Mary Alice Brandon What happened to Alice?
by perksofbeingawallflowerx
Summary: What happened? What was her life like before the Cullens? A story about our Alice; her life in the asylum, meeting Jasper, finding the Cullen's. Not going to be short; possibly going all the way up to BD. R&R! -Being re-written because of bad grammar.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Mary Alice Brandon - What happened to Alice? **

**Summary: What happened? What was her life like before the Cullens? A story about our Alice; her life in the asylum, meeting Jasper, finding the Cullen's. Not going to be short; possibly going all the way up to BD. R&R!  
**

**A/N: Only read if you want a quick recap on Alice! -Alice was actually called Mary throughout her human life. She was placed into the asylum due to the visions she was having. Whilst in the asylum, an unknown vampire began to favour her. James found out about this, and as he likes to do, set out to destroy the relationship. The unknown vampire changed her before James could harm her. What happened the this vampire afterwards is also unknown. Alice woke up alone, with only her visions to guide her. After many years, she found Jasper and they found the Cullen's. **

_**Chapter One: **_

The door shook again as they hit it. Again. And Again. It felt like it echoed around the house; it terrified me. I wished more than anything that I was with mother now. I wished she held me in her arms and told me it was all okay.

The door smashed to the ground causing all the paintings on the walls to smash; I curled into a tight ball, tucking my face to my knees and crossing my fingers. _I'm invisible. I'm invisible. _

Sudeenly something yanked up on my arm. I cried out from the pain and earned myself a fist to the side of my head.

"This her do you think?" One man said. There were two. The one speaking had a gruff voice; short cut hair, and a neatly cut beard. Both of them wore identical suits. Uniform.

"This is the house." Said the other man, looking down at an old and creased piece of paper. "And she's the only one in it. It has to be her." He concluded.

"Hmm...I s'pose."

Who had told them who I was? Who had told them about my visions? Mother said she was keeping it a secret. She said she'd protect me. I couldn't help them! _I - wasn't - mad! _

They began marching me out. In other words, pulling me along as they shook from each footstep. My body hitting off the floor with every footfall. They were tall and fast; I was small and slow. I was no match against them. My feet didn't even touch the ground from where they stood. It was felt like trying to run after a giant. And all of a sudden, I was aware of his hand gripping me a little too tightly, and the burning result. His hands were hard, and rough.

"You're hurting me." I whimpered. The man laughed and shrugged. The other turned, the slightest hint of concern in his eyes. My body whacked off the floor harder; I spun round several times.

"Are you leaving my door like _that!_" I shouted. I'd ended up facing the door. It was collapsed onto the floor, cracks and splintered holes smashed into its face. Either side of it lay broken glass, shattered frames, and dust coated photographs.

"Like what? It's more than a filthy brat like you deserves." It was the man who'd looked to me in concern. The man who hadn't really spoken. I'd thought he was the nice one; the way he looked at me in concern was something to trust.

I ignored my other emotions and glared up at him. I didn't take notice of how small I felt. All I wanted to do was attack him with my fury.

"My door! _Mother's door! _Like _that? _And whilst you're listening: I am not a _brat. _There is nothing wrong with me! Oh, and you're - hurting - me!"

The man holding me threw me to the ground roughly. I fell into a thorn bush situated near my gate. Surprisingly, I went straight through it, though the spikes dug into me harshly; soon, I was lay on the concrete floor. It was only when the large man pulled me back up that I felt my head throb; my back stung, and I saw several thorns sticking from my sides and arms.

"_Ow._" I shouted at him. Yes, I agreed, it was a stupid thing to do. I knew, before he'd even raised his hand, that I was going to get beaten into the ground.

"_You, _young lady, _had better learn to shut - up!_" He raged back. "I'll let them punish you. They'll do a much better job than me." He laughed cruelly. "Bad on here." We began to walk again. I couldn't see where we were heading, my vision had started to go blurred from the bang to the head.

"Hurry up!" The other man shouted.

"You hurt me - again." I muttered. I couldn't stop myself. By now I was visibly shaking, my head was throbbing almost violently, and I was struggling to stay above the resisting darkness bared at arms length.

"Shut up." He said, not even looking at me.

"No." I aruged. "There isn't any law saying I can't speak."

He stopped again. I felt my body shaking even harder, the sparkle in his bright blue eyes told me something bad was going to happen; and whatever it was, I didn't want it.

In a split second an image passed across my mind. An image where the only way I knew it wasn't really happening, was due to the lack of pain. And as soon as my eyes altered back to reality, I felt his fist make contact with my face and my whole world disapear into darkness.

* * *

By the time I'd awoke, my heart had made a quick race to my ears. All I could hear was the thrumming of my blood rushing through my veins. I moved a few fingers, fearing opening my eyes just yet. Dust and rubble stuck to my fingers. I was on some kind of floor. Just from the slim movement of my fingers, my whole hand began to throb. I surpressed a sigh, and opened my eyes slowly, taking in my surroundings.

I was looking up at the cieling of a small room. Even as I looked, a small amount of rubble moved unsteadily, and dropped onto my open hand. Just behind me was the back wall; in it a small hole that I presumed was for breathing purposes only. Never could they, or anybody else for that matter, see that as a window. For a quick second, I considered climbing up to it, and jumping. But apart from the obvious problem of being unable to climb a wall, the hole was covered in thick, metal bars. The rest of the walls around me were a pasty gray.

I stood up unsteadily to look around a little easier. Over in the corner sat a small, carboard box. From my distance, it looked empty. As I turned I saw the old wooden rocking chair that used to be my grandmothers. I could tell by the small lasherations in the legs of the chair, and the chunk missing from the arm. That's where grandma had fallen. That's where it had all ended. On the opposite side of the room was a few thin sheets, and three or four metal bars holding them up.

Somebody banged on the door making me jump. The sound echoed in my ears. Fear was injected into my body like a drug; I backed into the corner and crouched down, waiting for the door to swing open.

A small woman of about 5ft walked in; her hair was cut into a short, boy like style and her eyes were a big, innocent looking brown.

"'Ere." She said. Her voice was small and fearful. When she shouted, it sounded like a toddler trying to shout aggressivley. "First time, right?" She asked. I didn't answer. "Hmm...Think y'self lucky then I should say." And she chucked small piece of bread at me. It hit on the floor infront of me and uprooted a large cloud of dust.

"You'll be lucky to see me more than once a week. Just so you know. And don't get goin' asking around for me. I deliver the food, and that's what you don't need apparently. Encourages the evil inside of you."

I opened my mouth for the first time to speak, though I was unaware of what I was going to say. There were too many questions clouding my head.

Before anything coherent could reach my lips, she'd exited the room.

My body hurt so much it wasn't worth moving. I didn't even bother to reach out and take the bread. The noise it had made as it hit the floor made it clear it was stale. Suddenly, I was glad I'd eaten before they'd dragged me away. Although now, I was thirsty. Extremley thirsty. It felt like all the dust and debris of the room was resting on my tongue.

I rose up again, clinging onto the walls to stop myself falling over, and walked to the door. Nothing was unordinary about the door. It was tall, and brown; it was obviously made of wood.

I kept it shut as I called out. "Excuse me?" Nothing. "May I have a drink?"

The door swung open and my feet fell out from beneath me. I flew backwards, whacked against the concrete wall, and landed in the cardboard box.

Whoever had opened the door hurried around it and pulled me back up. She looked me up and down once her eyebrows returning to their normal height, and let go of my arm. I shook unsteadily on the spot for a moment.

"You're new aren't you?" It was another woman. I peered around her and out into the corridor. Two women stood at the doorway, exchanging small bags of powder, sharp objects, and large tablets. "Aren't you?" The woman asked. She hooked her finger and thumb around my chin, and pulled me to face her.

I nodded as best as I could. Another few woman were passing in the hallway. These were carrying a young boy of about five; he was crying hysterically, kicking and thrashing. His clothes were torn and dirty; several whip scars were scattered across his back.

"What are you doing?" Somebody asked just out of sight. I daren't move to see who. The woman had dropped me, though continued to scrutinize.

"Taking him back to his cell, Florence. No, Florence. Don't! Bad children need to be punished or else this whole place'll become a wreck. Move - Florence!"

"Kendon? Kendon? Oh...forgoodness sake. _Kendon? _I thought you said you were coming up he-"

The woman holding me turned around and opened the door a fraction more. A young woman poked her head around it. "Oh! There you are Kendon!"

"Yes, Florence. What is it?"

The woman named Florence was exeptionally beautiful. Her hair was a shocking colour of red; her skin pale and her figure slim. I was unaware of how long I'd stared into her bright green eyes for before she spoke.

"Go sit down." Kendon said gruffly, and pushed me across the room. Or at least tried. I ended up falling to the floor with a bang.

"Miss Kendon!" Florence exclaimed, and rushed forwards to help me up.

"You can take her. I'm frustratingly busy today."

Florence picked me up of the floor and placed me on the unstable bedding. All of a sudden, my eyes were viewing what wasn't here. I was sat on the end of a bed. I was clutching my stomach. I was crying. Florence was dabbing my face with a cloth. She was reasuring me.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay. This'll pass. I promise it will pass. Shhh."

"Mrs Ja-Jaymes...I don't...I think..."

And then the vision ended. I was left with the horrifying reality of today.

Kendon had gone. I was sitting on the bed; Florence was at my side.

"Mrs Jaymes, may I have a drink?" I asked.

"How do you know my name?" She asked.

"I-" I'd only just realised i'd said her name from the vision. I shouldn't have. This was just going to end badly.

"Oh, I know! You're that new girl aren't you? You're the one who has those visions. The vision girl. Sorry to be mean, but that's what everyones calling you, you know? Nobody even knows you're name yet and they're all fascinated. We've never had anybody like you before. You're like a shiny new toy."

"Yeah, they'll probably experiment on her like a shiny new toy an' all!" An elderley woman shouted from the corridor. She was one of the ladies stood by the windows. Those windows were so big...why couldn't my window be that big too?

"What's you're name?" Florence asked, ignoring the woman outside.

"Mary." I answered. "Mary Brandon. I-I mean Mary Alice Brandon." I stuttered. My body hadn't quite recovered from what had happened so far.

"Mary and Alice? What pretty names. How old are you, Mary?"

"I-I'm 11"

"You're very young Mary, how are you feeling?"

I wasn't sure how to answer her. I was scared and shaky; I was in shock and worried about my family. At the same time I was terrified to tell her. Already it seemed that to show emotion in this place was a weakness. Then mother's words flashed through my mind. _Honesty's the best policy, Alice! _She'd say; then she'd smile, and mess up my hair with her hand. It always used to make me smile when she said that. I knew that I'd never be in trouble so long as I told the truth. And every night before I went to bed, if something was bothering me, mother would know, and she'd whisper to me as she tucked me in at night: _Honesty's the best policy, Alice. _

Mother always called me Alice. It was what she had always wanted to call me. But father liked Mary just the same as he'd liked Cynthia, my sisters name. And so that's what we were named. At least this time, I got a middle name. Mother changed my name to Alice when father left. He was never a nice man. To any of us. He'd frequently beat mother, and say Cynthia was useless. I was only about six when he left, and so I don't remember a lot of what happened before. The only things he did to me, from memory, were slap my hands and thighs, and on occasion, if he was drunk or thought I'd been particularly naughty, he'd slap me across the face.

I prefered the name Alice.

Finally, I whispered my answer. "Scared."

Florence smiled reasuringly. "Well don't worry about anything, okay? You're first visit isn't until tomorrow, and isn't that such a long time away? You'd of visited another world by that time...you'd of been to dreamland and made everything alright again, won't you? You'll be fine, Mary, I promise you'll be fine." She lay me back down on the bed. I accepted her tuck in, though it wasn't comfortable, I doubted the entire bed would be.

Just as she was about to leave, I opened my mouth to speak again. "I prefer being called Alice." I told her.

She turned around and smiled again. "Okay. You go to sleep now, Alice. You have a long day ahead of you."

As soon as she'd gone I realised how uncomfortable the bed really was. The metal bars dug into me and the thin sheets did nothing but cover my body. They gave no warmth. I lay there enduring the pain and the dropping temperature, thinking of home, thinking of mother and Cynthia. They'd be here tomorrow, I thought, they'll be looking for me. The idea brought a smile to my lips and I yawned loudly.

It didn't take very long until I was in that exact place Florence had been talking about. Home. Mother. Cynthia.

**Review! Pretty please! **

**A/N: I'm not going to go into huge amounts of detail on the torture. To be perfectly honest, I don't think my writing skills are equipped to go into that much detail of pain and horror. Hence the rating, there will be scenes etc and I already know, as this is re-written for some grammar and spelling mistakes, that in the future, there are scenes that I doubt are suitable for younger readers. So. There you go (: **


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two: _**

A high pitched ringing flooded into my ears and sat me bolt up. My whole body was shaking so badly I couldn't touch the tip of my nose. I clung onto the edges of my bed uneasily; in the same moment, I pulled away. The metal bars felt like ice.

The high pitched screaming faded away though different cries and wails began. People were screaming in pain and terror.

I attempted to distract my mind uselessly. Would I have stayed asleep if that girl hadn't screamed? Would I have frozen to death without even knowing? The girl's screaming could have saved my life for all I knew. Would it do me any good though? Being awake. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to sleep eternally if I had to. If it meant that I'd never have to wake up to this place again and the women and men in their uniforms; the high pitched screaming and the crying and the wailing and worst of all, the thick atmosphere of death, loneliness and depression. It lingered in every particle of the open air.

Soon my attention was else where again. Footstpes were hurrying down the corridor; slowly getting louder. I froze in my place, last night flooding into my shaking mind. _"You're first visit isn't until tomorrow, and isn't that such a long time away?" _Florence had said to comfort me. _"You'd of visited another world by that time...you'd of been to dreamland and made everything alright again, won't you? You'll be fine, Mary, I promise you'll be fine." _Now I'd finished visiting dreamland. In fact, it hadn't felt like a very long trip at all. I wanted to go back. I wanted to return to dreamland and make all my troubles away.

I snapped my eyes shut and chucked myself back onto the bed. My bottom lip gave my state away; I was shaking so badly. I heard the handle on my door turn just as I reached up to take a firm hold of my chin.

The door to my room swung open. It creaked eerily and banged against the far wall. Two steps; the door slammed shut. It was silent.

I didn't know how long I waited. The steps had faded away; more had come and gone, but slowly, I opened my eyes. _Meet me on the 7C stairs at 6.30am. _

* * *

I didn't know who had put the note there. I had forced myself not to anticipate what was coming when the footsteps arrived, and so I saw no vision. I couldn't see into the past now. I was stood on the 7C stairs. The few women that stood at the end of the corridor with their block white suits and smart shoes didn't even notice me exit my room; and luckily enough for me, the 7C stairs was at the end of my corridor. The nearest end.

I felt light headed and my head was spinning, though I was just thankful I'd stopped shaking. My throat was parched from being so dry. I stood, as tucked up in the corner as I could be, in the clothes I'd worn yesterday on my arrival, and the ones I slept in last night, and looked around hopelessly. I was unaware of the time, though I guessed it was near 6.30am. The sun was beginning to rise properley, and the stranger wouldn't have put on a date too far away, would they?

As I stood wondering why they spent time and money numbering the staircases and corridors people came and passed me. They took no notice to my quavering figure.

"What're you doing here?"

The voice made me jump several inches off the ground. For a start, it was a male voice. I hadn't heard a male voice since I'd arrived here. Secondly, they had took notice in me and the stranger to have left me the note had not yet arrived.

"I-I, err..." I pulled out the note that was in my pocket and showed it him. He stared at it for a few minutes and whilst his concentration was on the note, I took a good while to look at the man who had decided to take notice of me.

Once, he had been a tall man with dark, thick hair and a pale complexion. Now, it looked as though he'd been squashed down with a giant hammer. His skin was masked with thick wrinkles; his face made up of two beady eyes, a rather large round nose (from where a pair of huge, magnifying glasses were hanging), and a smothering smile-stretching beard. In a scruffy mess on the back of his head was his frazzled silver hair.

"Jimmy again!" His voice boomed.

I jumped a few inches more off the floor again and looked away.

"Wh—Who's Jimmy, sir?" I asked.

"Jimmy? Are you...? Never mind. Jimmy is a very naughty boy; he's about to get punished!"

As he finished his sentence the old man's head snapped to the right. At the bottom of the staircase stood a boy, not much older than fifteen. He was approaching the staircase warily, constantly glancing behind his back and jumping as each door slammed shut. He wore a scruffy t-shirt with buttons to his stomach. All of them were un-done revealing his whipped and badly bruised chest. His trousers had been ripped so they no longer came all the way down to his ankles. His legs were plastered in more bruises and cuts, scars and whip marks. As he looked up you could see a long, fresh scar running along the side of his face. It looked extremley painful, but he didn't even seem to notice the dried blood over his face. His hair was long and shaggy; I only noticed the bright blue colour of his eyes when they clicked onto the two of us in horror.

"That's Jimmy Credshaw." Mr Franco whispered to me. "And Jimmy Credshaw is gonna' get a good battering tonight. Not from my 'ands either!" He shouted.

Jimmy stared at him for a second and then turned, running down the corridor.

"They're evil Mary!" He shouted as he went.

I felt like telling him my name wasn't Mary. It was Alice. I _wanted _to follow him. But I was frozen in place from where I'd suddenly realised I hadn't seen Mr Franco coming. I'd looked out for my sake to see who was coming and yet I'd seen no-one. Everybody had stayed in their places.

"My name isn't Mary" I sulked after several minutes of silence.

"Isn't it?" Mr Franco asked. "That's what you're filed as."

"That's what the other women said. I don't like being called Mary though. I've always been called Alice." I didn't know why I was opening up to the man who terrified. The more I got him to talk the more I was beginning to get a clearer picture of him in my head.

"Oh, right." He said simply. It sounded as though his dull, low voice was trying to be cheery. "I'll file you as Alice then, shall I?" He gave me a little smile. "As you're up, we may as well begin your treatment now, hadn't we? Follow me."

He began walking down the stairs and up another corridor. I ran after him, he was very fast considering his short legs.

* * *

After walking down a million corridors and up and down a thousand stairs we arrived at our destination. I was out of puff as I'd got there; the first thing I noticed was the nice looking chair in the middle of the room. Without hesitation I walked over to it and sat down. A few feet from me was a little, fading machine with lots of buttons and cabels on it. Behind me was a big window; the large, pretty ones you see in big mansions. It was covered in curtains.

"Why don't you open the curtains?" I asked. While he wasn't looking I stood up and walked over to them. As my hands were clutching the fabric new, more rough hands replaced them, and pulled them away.

"Because." Mr Franco said. His voice was nasty and sharp; different to when he'd invited me here. "People would look in." Without releasing my hands he pulled them above my head and walked me back over to the chair. He chucked me into the chair and handed me a plastic cup which rattled as it moved. "Take these. They'll make you feel a lot better in a few minutes."

I stared into the cup warily. "My mother told me not to take drugs from anyone."

Mr Franco turned. "You have a headache, do you not? You feel sick and you're beginning to feel dizzy? Correct me if I'm wrong, Alice, but you are ill. Take the tablets."

"I'll correct you then as you've given me permission, sir. I'm not ill. I don't feel any of those symptoms funnily enough."

"Mother told me not to take drugs without her being there." I said back to him.

"You have a headache, don't you? You feel sick, don't you? You're ill Alice. Take the tablets."

"Well. As you gave me the permission to correct you, I think I shall." I began.

Mr Franco turned sharply on his heels and pulled my chin tightly between his finger and thumb. "I'm going to be the one to warn you, Miss Brandon, because you seem like a nicer girl than we usually get in this mad house. If you keep talking to people in the way you do; if you're not obedient and successful you'll never get out of here. Now take the tablets. _Now!_"

I tipped the tablets into my mouth unwillingly. As soon as I did so they felt lodged in my throat. My vision changed into another one that had not yet begun. _Clamps were on my wrists. I was crying. I was shaking-_

"ALICE!" Mr Franco yelled.

I jumped half off the chair and my wrists cracked uselessly. They'd already been tied down like in my visions.

"Of course." A smile was playing at his lips; an evil sparkle settled in his eyes. "I should have known as soon as look at you. You're the vision girl aren't you. You're assigned to me, you are. Good, that, good. We'll be seeing plenty of each other." He turned around and began messing with the machine behind.

By the end of his sentence my body had began tingling. I started shaking. Tears started falling down my cheeks.

"Keep calm, would you." Mr Franco cussed. A sharp edge stung my skin and released quickly. I began to squirm helplessly.

Another man walked into the room. A taller, younger man with dark hair and skin.

"What have you given her?" He laughed.

"Pancuronium." Mr Franco explained. He took a small roll of thick tape of the man and took it out of my view. "Paralysis. Goodwin brought the only the other day; she'll be one of the first to try it. Master invention. She'll feel everything we do to her, but can't move a muscle."

"How's she going to breath?" The man asked, a tone of concern in his voice.

"I don't know. I think it's below her shoulders. One person in the fifteen it was tested on was unable to scream. It should be very entertaining."

Mr Franco flicked a loud switch and the machine began to buzz. From behind and out of view he picked up two iron tongs and brought them closer to me. My whole body was stuck where it was. I could no longer squirm. I could barely breathe. My heart was the only thing that I could think was working at the moment. Why couldn't I move? Why were my muscles frozen like this?

As the two tongs touched my temples the pain seared through my head. It was like I was repeatedly being punched; my head was being sliced open; I was being hit and trampled on by millions; I was being teared to shreds and being thrown into a brick wall and more. Again and again and again.

I was slowly beginning to lose breath. My lungs did not co-operate with my brain. They wouldn't take the air. They wouldn't take anything. Then just as I began going light headed I was thrown back into reality. The tongs had been taken from my head.

"A little higher I think. It doesn't seem to be having any effect."

I took in the biggest breath I could, half able to breathe again. As soon as the tongs were pressed to my temples again the breathe was pushed out of me. I screamed louder than I'd ever screamed before and I couldn't stop. No air remained in my lungs any longer, but sound still came from my lips. I felt light-headed; I was going to pass out.

Mr Franco took the tongs off my head again and I slumped into my chair. I could barely hear anything at all, the buzzing lasted so noisily in my ears.

"Mr Franco, I don't think you should raise that any higher. She looks as though she's going to fall unconscious." It was another voice.

Another voice. Another person. I couldn't bring myself to rise my head. I could barely get enough oxygen into my lungs before Mr Franco was coming closer to me again.

"Mr Franco, really, stop."

"Why are you in here, Whitton?" Mr Franco snapped.

The tongs touched my head again and I cried out with my last remaining breaths. This wasn't going to end.

**Reviewers do your stuff :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three: _**

How much time had passed? I didn't know. My head felt like it was going to explode. I couldn't move a muscle in my body, not even one of my fingers, though I was thankful. They were tingling. I had some kind of feeling on the outside.

Mr Franco had gone. Whoever the new man was he'd shouted quite loudly at the old man and taken me out of the room. I hadn't seen this in a vision; I was too confused, in too much pain.

I hadn't yet got a clear picture of my saviour either. If I could call him that. He'd stopped the pain and that's all I needed. That's all I even cared about. And he was taking me somewhere, he was taking me far away-

"I'm taking you away from the pain." He whispered.

I tried to smile at his voice. I would have if I could. It was perfect on every level. I wanted to listen to it all day.

We'd turned too many corners and climbed too many steps for me to know where we were now. All I knew was that my body was beginning to come back to me. I could move my head, my fingers, my toes. I could see the man carrying me.

"Hello." He smiled at me reasuringly. "Nice to see you're awake now. My name's Mr Whitton, okay? Can you hear me?" I nodded feebly. "Good. My name's Mr Whitton, but you can call me Dorian. That's my first name."

We made it to a room, my room I think. He didn't let go of me yet. He sat down with me in his arms and began stroking my hair from my face and calming me down. All I wanted to do was sleep. I wanted to get away. I was tired, I was weak. It frustrated me how I was so incapable. "I'll make sure they won't do that to you again, Alice, okay?" I didn't struggle on working out how he knew my name. "This feeling will pass. They shouldn't be doing this to you, or anyone, but you look very young. Can you answer me? How old are you?"

I opened my mouth but no sound came out. Dorian smiled. "It's okay, don't worry. You can talk to me later, can't you?" He rest me on the bed and began walking around the room. I followed him as best I could. Moving felt painful and yet I endured it to watch him. He was beautiful and looked far too young to be working in such a place. He didn't look over his teenage years yet, although he must have been in his twenties. His hair was almost to his shoulders but neat, and a dark, chestnut brown. He had a small, neatly cut beard, and extraordinarily pale skin.

Suddenly he turned back around to face me. I felt my cheeks go a shade darker with my embarrassment of him catching me watching him. "Is that wearing off? I need to be going now."

"Please don't!" I gasped. My throat burned when I spoke and tears watered in my eyes.

"Alice! Alice, don't cry!" He hurried over to me and stroked my face gently. "I won't them them touch-I won't them do _that _again. Okay? Shh."

"My mother promised me she'd never let them take me away." I said. I didn't know why I was making my thoughts audible. For some reason I was drawn to tell him. "Father promised me he wouldn't leave as well. They both promised things. They both lied."

Dorian sighed. "I can't promise you, Alice. I'm sorry. I won't let them though. I really won't."

"Then why not promise?"

"Would you believe me if I promised you anyway?" He questioned. "Would it make any difference at all? You'd still have the same doubt as you do now, Alice."

I couldn't say he was wrong. He was too right to be wrong.

"I know you find it difficult to trust people, Alice, but I'm not just anybody, okay? But I must go now, I have work to do, can you breathe? Can you move?" I nodded. "Good. Then I'll see you soon. There are clothes over in that box over there. How about putting something else on?"

I didn't reply.

"What do I do for fun?" I asked as he was about to walk out.

He turned around, looking surprised. "Err, how about you draw me a picture? I'll get you some pens...Hold on."

"Thank you." I said, but he never heard my thanks.

* * *

Quite a while later Florence walked in with a small cardboard box. In it were two pieces of paper and a few pencils and colours. I stared at it's contents with some disapointment for a few seconds and then began exploring.

"Thank you." I said.

Florence smiled. "You're welcome." But she didn't go like I thought she would. She was staring at me contently. It was the kind of stare somebody gives to another when they've got a spider on their back. "Alice...What are those burn marks on your temples?"

I looked up at her. "Those? Nothing. Don't worry."

"Alice..."

"It's nothing." I repeated, covering up the tingling marks so she couldn't touch them.

"How old are you, Alice?" Florence asked.

I looked back down at my colours awkwardly and began lining them up. "Eleven, miss."

"Too young." Florence sighed. "Much, much too young."

And with that, she turned, and left.

* * *

**Dorian Whitton's POV**

My mind was going round in frustrating circles. _Alice is different. Alice is different. _That thought came back every time. _How? _I asked back. _How is she different? I've only just met her! She's just a new patient...she's just another child...she's just another little girl with nothing wrong with her who's going to die in this hell-hole like every body else does._

Then I shut myself up. I'd never been so negative about my hideaway before. Yes, I understood that it wasn't the nicest of places by far. People got killed. People got hurt and murdered and-_Shut up. _I told myself.

I wanted to go back right now. I wanted to care for her further. I didn't want Mr Franco getting his grimy hands over her again. But right now I had more important things to think about than mental asylums and their staff. As selfish as it sounded, right now I had to think of myself. People were after me. People wanted to hurt _me. _The Volturi were a never ending annoyance. Aro to be quite exact. He wanted me. Aro still wanted _me_; still wanted me in his little gang that he thought was so superior and amazing. Well it's not. It never would be in my eyes, and I would not join it. Sure, that put Alice out of my head for a while, but I should have known she would come back again. There was something about Alice.

Trying to take my mind off of things by other means I listened around the asylum as I walked. I'd never really liked my gift and I'd never really been able to explain it. It was a lot like a sixth sense. People, every day, wished for things. Wanted things and needed things. Without even realising they're doing it they project this out into the world. They let people know. Of course, the world may pick this up but humans didn't. I did. I knew exactly what someone needed and wanted the most and it didn't stop there. If somebody thought of something a lot, I'd hear it in my head like an extra person; if someone had a strong enough opinion over something, I'd hear it in my head, like an extra person. I felt like I was constantly invading peoples privacy.

Alice's fear still lasted inside of me. Emotion. I hated emotion the most from my gift. It wasn't like another voice, it was really there. It really hurt. Coming to this place was never a good idea. I could have hidden somewhere else. I should have. Anywhere else.

"Mr Whitton? A boy in room 2119 is refusing to take his medication. Staff sent me out for you."

I did not jump at the surprising voice like I should have, but merely turned around. The woman was young and beautiful with long blonde hair pulled back into a lose bun. Her face was pale and even slightly clammy; she didn't look in perfect health.

"I don't mean to sound rude." I said. "But are you knew here? I don't seem to recognize you."

The woman smiled awkwardly. "Yes, sir. Sorry for not introducing myself, sir. My name is Miss Jones here, sir."

"What do you mean, _here?_"

"My name used to be Miss Fredescott, but for some reason Mr Wrill didn't like it, so he changed it to Miss Jones, sir."

"He can't change your name! For goodness sake, he's getting worse and worse. What's your first name?"

"Elise, sir."

"Right, well introduce yourself as Elise Jones to everyone. If you meet somebody called Florence Jaymes, or Mr Rogers, you may name yourself Elise Fredescott, okay? They are friends of mine, tell them what you told me, you can trust us, okay?"

She looked at me un-certain for a minute, but nodded. "Thankyou, sir."

"My name is Mr Whitton, Mr Dorian Whitton. You can call me Dorian."

"Goodbye then. . .Dorian" She gave me a quick smile before running back down the hallway. I watched for a few seconds, for some reason making sure she was okay.

According to her thoughts, she'd been placed here by her father. Nasty man obviously.

I headed to the boys room. It didn't take me long, a lot of the corridors were deserted and so I ran.

Mr Franco was already in the room. Seeing him made me want to-_I woudn't think about it._

"Mr Franco, may I ask why you are here?" I asked politley.

"I'm doing my job Mr Whitton, why are _you _here." His tone was the complete opposite, if only he knew how much he was pushing his luck.

"I was sent here to do my job." I snapped. "Put the medication down, Mr Franco, it is clearly not correct for I have the medication in my hand this very second. No wonder the poor boy is refusing his medication. For one it's from you, and for another it's not even the correct tablets."

Mr Franco turned around and glared. I stared back, allowing my instincts to roll through me. Without even trying I growled. Mr Franco looked away and stormed out of the room.

"I've had just about enough of that man." I grumbled.

"H-How did you d-do that?" He asked.

"I can't believe they put you in here just because you stutter." I grumbled again. My anger still hadn't passed.

"M-Missster Whit-ton?"

"Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a rush. Here's your tablets. The ones for your stomach again, am I correct?"

He nodded and I helped him take the tablet.

The boy smiled his thanks at me and I headed out of the room. He looked as though he was about to fall asleep.

Looking either way to the empty corridors I began to ran to Alice's room. The minute I saw her it felt like my heart was alive again. It was pounding hard in my chest. But something was wrong...

I took three slow steps in to her shaking figure in the corner.

"Alice?"

She grunted and her eyes fluttered. For a minute she was wide awake, i thought she must have just been asleep, but from nowhere she began screaming and crying.

"Alice? What's wrong? Alice?"

"It's burning" She cried.

**Didn't think I did a great job, but hoped you liked it anyway. Next chapter to look forward to :) Reviewers, do your thing!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four_**

My first instinct was to run to her; to care for her. I looked left and right once and slammed the door behind me. Nobody would enter with her screaming the way she way; nobody would have the guts.

I tried to pick her up, almost forgetting my brute strength was too much for her tiny body. She screamed and cried harder; her body was shaking and she clawed at her own skin as though it was burning.

I rearranged my thoughts in a second. I'd have to be careful. I'd have to take her by surprise. I took one whole step back. The feeling off stepping away felt like I was abandoning her forever. The emotion bothered me; I didn't know why I was feeling like this towards her already. She was a small girl; a new arrival; someone I'd saved. Nobody special; no lifeline.

In the same second as my new thoughts I reached out and cradled her into my arms. Quite suddenly the shaking stopped though her breathing became heavier and more strained. I rest back on the bed with her in my lap and caught her chin with my thumb and finger and forced her to look up at me.

It was obvious she didn't want to look at me, though she didn't fight against me. Her face had gone a rose pink, her cheeks flushed from how long she'd been crying. Two small burn marks sat in either side of her face. They'd heal easily, luckily, they wouldn't scar forever.

Even without the use of my gift I could sense what she was shouting at the world the most. She wanted her family; she wanted to be comforted and loved and she wanted to get out of here. She'd never felt pain like this ever before in her life, and she never wanted to feel it again. It was all there, every thought, every want, and every need, all playing out in her extraordinarily beautiful eyes.

I stroked her heated face gently to cool her down. Her breathing slowed into small, raspy breaths; the shaking came to a complete halt, and the tears melted away on her paling cheeks.

I was glad I could touch the patients bare skin with my own. It felt good that I didn't have to hide away. If the patients even noticed a difference in the temperature of my skin on theirs they thought nothing of it. Afterall, after only a few weeks in the asylum you began to believe you were mad. The amount of times you were told, the amount of times you're tortured then locked away and ignored or shouted out. Ideas that get planted into your head from such a young age stayed locked there. Most were beyond our help after a month.

She shook once under my touch though it didn't bother me. She was far too hot to be normal right now; she needed cooling.

"Alice?" I said. "Alice? Can you tell me what's burning? Can you speak to me?"

She didn't want to speak and she made it clear. Her lips pressed into a hard line and she pressed her face into my chest. I rocked her gently.

"Alice." I said again. "I really need to know, Alice. Can you tell me, love? Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"My head. It feels l-like it's b-burning, sir. It feels like it's going to—."

"Okay. Shh. Can you breathe okay? Are you experiencing any other pain?"

"My chest burns too. Everytime I breathe. It hurts. Why does it hurt so much?"

I held her closer to me and waited why she drained herself of her emotion. It didn't take long until her breaths had become deep and steady. I feared she had fallen asleep until she untucked herself away from my shirt, and looked up to see me better.

"Alice, when did it start burning?" I asked her. "Do you know why?"

Alice shook her head. "I don't know. Mr Franco came in. He said he'd forgot to give me the tablets that would take my pain away. He said I'd go into shock if I didn't take them. I said I'd rather go into shock. I said I'd rather die than do something else he asked for me. So then he started getting angry. Really angry. I took them before he could hurt me anymore. I didn't want any more pain. I'm sorry."

I looked up to the filthy ceiling with a sigh. It was a while until I'd noticed I'd just looked to the perfect representation of what that man was: filth. He was disgusting; foul; he shouldn't be allowed to even walk this planet. He enjoyed other peoples pain and torture; devoted himself to a life of working for it. I wanted to get up now and murder him. I'm sure I would have done if it wasn't for Alice in my arms. She was no more a drive to commit the murder than she was the person stopping it.

After a few more minutes of silence I could no longer ignore Alice's gaze. I could feel her staring at me; with every passing minute it grew stronger, more intense. She was fascinated by something.

I looked down to her and met her gaze. She didn't flinch away or even look embarrassed by me catching her watching.

"Are you angry with me?" She whispered.

I looked away again, scared of myself. There was no doubt now of the colouring of my eyes. They were definitely a dangerous black. I'd hunted only a few days ago. My eyes had returned to their golden state. Now the anger filled me and took over. Emotion changed me.

Suddenly her arm clutched at her chest. I tried my hardest not to look at whatever she was doing. She was trying to stay quiet. She didn't want me to know the pain she was still in. She didn't know how she could explain that the minute she was in my arms, she'd felt safe and calm. I couldn't stop pain though. She was still in agony whilst at rest in my arms.

After a few seconds she pulled her arm away from her chest and placed it on my shoulder warily. I looked at her, exactly what she wanted, and she attempted to smile.

"No." I said to her plain, and simply. "I am not angry with you, Alice. I am angry with somebody else."

"Who-?"

"Mr Franco didn't give you pain relievers." I grimaced. "He gave you something else."

"What did he give me then?"

I ignored her question. "He thinks you're amazing, Alice. He thinks...he thinks you're the best patient he's ever had. He's obsessed with you already. He thinks he's in love with you or something along those lines." I tried to stop my voice from turning into a hiss. "This isn't a good thing though. When he gets such an...infactuation he has to act on it. He wants you to get better, but in a different way. He'll _treat _you. Extreme pain to shock the evil from you. That's what he thinks. That none of you are normal. That you're horrible creatures. Possessed. He'll keep on going until you show some kind of signs of getting better...or die."

It was silent for an extremely long time. My breathing had gone unnaturally heavy; I struggled to stop myself from shaking.

"And you want to know the bigger problem in that? How can children – _children –_ hide something that doesn't exist inside of them? How can they pretend that they're normal and happy and healthy when that's how they already were. Their normal; their happy; their healthy is how they got into the asylum. How do they change it?"

I took a deep breath, stood up, and rest Alice on the bed.

"You're just in shock. The tablets didn't suit your system, that's all. Try to sleep. You'll be fine when you wake up."

I turned and walked out the room, hearing her eyes shut, hearing her trying her hardest to get her breathing even; to calm herself down enough so she could sleep.

* * *

I returned only a few minutes later with a small glass of water and some food. I couldn't continue with my shifts while I was so distracted and distraught. My mind was elsewhere.

Nobody would notice if they didn't see me in the hallways. Nobody would quite honestly care. Everybody in this place hadn't a care in the world for each other. One of us could die tomorrow and the staff wouldn't detect the slightest difference.

The only person who would be aware of my absence was Florence Jaymes, and she was too busy to go looking for me. Florence was a friend of mine; I knew she thought she loved me so I tried to distance myself but it never really seemed to work. It was embarrassing for us both.

I sat on the end of Alice's bed and just listened in the end. Staring into the depths of the dirty water and trying to work out when the world would change; when this torture would become illegal. I did this in an attempt to distract myself from Alice's thoughts and feelings. She couldn't help it, especially now she was sleeping, that she was throwing her every want, need and care onto me. If it was anyone's fault it was my own, for it was my gift that was magnetising it towards me.

As the original plan didn't work I sat in complete silence. Doing this in an asylum was, of course, not the best of ideas. All you ever heard in these places were screams and cries. Every now and then came the buzzing of machines; and through my ears you could hear the occupants in the other blocks also. Like the water rooms where they shocked people with freezing water; submerged them in it until they were unconscious or dead. In the furthest block away the workers: cleaning water, cleaning clothes, making equipment and enduring the harsh whip that struck their backs. In the yard: the young boys running around the field. Exercise was good for them. The only 'punishment' I actually agreed on, as most of the boys enjoyed the first few laps of the track.

Right now all I wanted to do was sleep though. Something I hadn't done for a very long time, decades even. It was a time when you could take all of your problems away and relax. Go into a different world; a different time; a different place; a place to be whoever you wanted to be without being questioned or chased or interrogated.

I would wait here until Alice woke, if she was even sleeping. Her breaths had evened out and her body lay limp and relaxed, though I somehow doubted she was sleeping. Nor would she have heard me enter, even if she didn't have that constant ringing remaining in her ears.

It took a lot to force myself to stay sat. Interrogating Mr Franco right now would do nothing helpful; it would bring me no closer to finding out what she took. And of course, without the information of what she took, how could I find out how to treat her?

If she still felt the same way in the morning she would have to hide it. There was no other choice. Despite me seeing as just a reaction to the treatment she had already been through the others would take it as some kind of sign that she was getting further ill. Or worse, they'd see the treatment as working and do more of it more frequently.

I couldn't risk either outcome. Alice would have to wait.

* * *

It was approximately twelve noon. I looked down on Alice for what seemed like the millionth time; she was still sleeping, but restlessly.

Outside had got louder throughout the night, and the noise had continued through till the daytime. I was hoping she wouldn't wake. It had taken her a long time to get to sleep last night, yet she still wasn't aware of my presence.

But of course, being the bad timing that this week had to offer me, she woke within the next few seconds. First with stirring, she rolled over, unknowingly facing me; she rolled again, this time with more force, and then suddenly she jumped up in shock.

I pushed her down onto the bed. "Shh, Alice. It's okay. You're with me. You're with me."

Just by my voice she recognized me. Her heart slowed down almost immediately, her breathing returning to another normal state. I smiled to myself. I'd earnt some of her trust already.

"Is the burning gone?" I asked softly.

She thought about it for a few seconds, looking around her and pursing her lips. "Err, yes." But continued to look around in confusion, fear even.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I, err, do I have to do that again? Today? Will Mr Franco take me again and—"

"No, Alice."

"But the bee-thing-y. Won't I have to go on it again?"

I chuckled quietly at her use of words. A machine that sends high voltage electrical currents through your brain, your body, paralysing you in the fear and pain of it alone, and she calls it a _bee thingy? _

"No." I said. "I won't let them take you on it again, Alice."

"You said that before." I heard her mumble. I guessed she hadn't thought I'd heard, and kept my mouth shut before quickly changing the subject.

"Didn't you say you'd done a picture?" I asked her. She hadn't said anything about the picture, or even if she'd been able to do it. I hoped, despite that, that by assumption was correct. Afterall, there was a small piece of paper rolled up in the corner she'd been in last night.

"Mr Franco ripped it up." She said, not noticing how I knew she'd done a picture. "He said I shouldn't have a personal relationship with you...Well, that's what I think he said. He said...he said he knew what was going on and it was wrong for you to be in love with me. He said I shouldn't be...err," It was obvious she was either struggling to understand what Mr Franco had said, or couldn't quite remember. I couldn't use my gift to find out, and so waited patiently for her to continue. "Oh yes! He said I shouldn't be _showing my interest in you _by making pictures for you. Then he started muttering it was all wrong and..."

"And _what?_" I hissed. _What was his problem with Alice? What was his...obsession all about?_

Her eyes watered up as she opened her mouth. It took her several tries to get the words out clearly. "He hit me and threw my picture into the corner."

"He hit you? Why did he do that for? Because you drew a picture? Because you're a _child _and you _drew a picture_? _All children draw pictures for crying out loud!" _

Alice jumped back into the wall and hit her head of the hard concrete. I sighed, trying to calm myself. She thought I was angry at her again.

"I'm sorry, Alice. It's not you I'm angry at." I said, reaching out and lifting her up off the bed. Even for a human she was incredibly light.

I stroked away her long, dark curls from her face and soothed her before resting her on my hip, like you would a toddler. She didn't fight against my hold until I went to retrieve the picture.

"Don't!" She shouted.

I stared at her. "Why? You drew me a picture, Alice. Can't I see it?"

She shook her head. "It's ruined now."

I shook my head and picked up the paper before she could fight me off. As I unrolled it I placed her on the bed so she would not break her hand in an attempt to hit me, and slotted the two pieces of ripped card together so they made one.

The drawing was exceptional. It looked as though a professional artist had drawn it, not a child. I had expected stick figures and box buildings; circles for suns and wobbly lines but it was far from it. The drawing looked like it had been taken with film, like a picture. Alice and I stood outside the asylum, she'd drawn me in a tidy suit and tie, my skin a shade paler than her own and my arm wrapped around her shoulders. Alice stood next to me, as close as she could get, her hair in long ringlets down her back compared to the plain, lose curls it held in reality; she wore a small and flowing purple dress.

Two things I could tell from the painting: the first being she'd never seen the asylum from the outside. In her imagination the building was wearing and looked old and worn. Quite the opposite to how the boss liked to keep it. According to him, the more appealing it looked to the public, the less they would doubt the place. Hearing screaming children from inside the locked walls was never really something that adults could place their trust in, but seeing the building as a posh grand house, somewhere that looked nice, did appeal. Every week we got more.

The other was that this was what she wanted, not reality. The image of us both was a different one. We both looked richer, we both looked happier, and we both looked much smarter. We were outside of the asylum, not trapped in it. Her hair was curled, she wore a pretty dress: all things she wanted.

"Alice? You drew this?" I asked, bewildered.

"Yes." She mumbled.

"This is amazing" I smiled at her.

She instantly perked up. "Is it? Really?"

"Yes, I've never seen such a good drawing."

I sat on the bed next to her and she instantly began pointing and explaining. "That's this place behind us, see, but we're not trapped in it, we've escaped look! And that's you, there, and that's me. You see that little love heart, too? Do you see it?"

I followed her finger to a small heart between the two of us. Somehow, I had never noticed it the first time I looked.

"Yes? Well that means love. Of course we're not in love, that would just be silly. But we're friends. My mother always said friendship was the best love, see, so I thought that'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

I nodded as she spoke. "Well done. Now, I have to go for a while. Ignore Mr Franco, yes? He's a nasty man, though you already know that. Ignore what he says, Alice, friendship is the best type of love. Hide your pictures and your colours, I'll be back at the end of the week. How about you draw me another picture?"

Her face instantly dropped. I was already stood at the door and ready to go, I could not take my mind off hunting now I had already told myself I was going.

"May I come with you?" She asked. "Outside I mean?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, Alice. I wouldn't be able to get you out if I tried. I'll be back before you know it...I'll get you some more colours and paper on my way. Goodbye, Alice."

I couldn't stand the look on her face anymore. Just her asking to go out felt like she was shoving a sharp needle through my middle. I looked either way on the long corridor and prepared myself to run.

"And where do you think you're going, Mr Whitton? For a little walk around the park?" Mr Franco sniggered.

**Reviewers! PLEASE :)**


	5. Chapter 5

"My whereabouts are none of your business, Mr Franco." I snapped at him. "And eavsdropping is considered extremley rude."

He glared at me before turning straight to Alice and ripping the paper from beneath her hands.

"Why are you drawing again, miss? I told you you could not. It is not for a child to do, and so you shall not do it. Do you, or do you not understand that?"

"Mr Franco, Alice can draw whatever she wants. Her drawing is beyond exceptional and you of all people have no say in what she can and cannot do."

I stood up, walking over to Alice and proudly watching over her as Mr Franco struggled for words to say. I could have said a lot to him right now, could have done a lot too, but i chose not to. I would not risk hurting or scaring Alice anymore than she already was.

"I have every say in what she can and can't do. I watch her here. I am her leader right now. I _am _doing my job."

"And what is your job exactly? What are you doing with these children, these _people?_"

"People?" Mr Franco scoffed. "My job is to treat them. To banish the devil from where he has placed himself in their bodies and their brains. I am here to mend Mr Whitton."

"Well you don't seem to be doing a very good job." I snapped again. "Alice is anything but the devil, she is merely a child, an _angel, _Mr Franco."

I felt Alice's arm on my leg. Looking down her body was curled up into a very small, very tight ball. She was shaking slightly, and clinging onto me. I could feel her fear, but could not allow it to take me over. I would not be scared of Mr Franco.

"You fall for the temptation of the Devil, Mr Whitton. You are correct, Alice is bright at the moment. The devil may not show himself clearly yet, but her visions and. . .mad ways show he is present inside her. And if we have to surface him before banishing him we shall."

"Surface him? The way you did in Belle? The way you did with Emma and Gracie? The way you did with Alec and Emmett and Lucas? And where are they all now Mr Franco? You tell me where they all are!" I struggled to control my anger. He had killed so many children, and so many adults, and he didn't care.

"Emmett and Gracie are in heaven. The rest are burning for their evil ways."

I felt Alice crying into my leg. Her whole body was shaking violently. I looked down to her while Mr Franco stood there, smug. He made me want to be sick. If anyone was going to hell, it was him. Alice didn't look up. I could here her heartbeat going too fast, and her breath coming short and fast. I picked her up, holding her like i would a toddler. She rest her face on my shoulder, and cuddled into my kneck. While the silence continued, i searched for her thoughts.

After a few seconds i found them. It sounded weird, but i had to search for what i wanted. All she was thinking about was Mr Franco, what Mr Franco was going to do to her. Every now and then, between rushed thoughts and heard my name and saw my face. I wasn't sure why. All i could do was hope that it wasn't because she was scared of me.

"They cannot help what they are born with Mr Franco, and if you believe that tortue is what really _helps _them, then you are the only one going to hell." I spat at him, walking out of the room.

* * *

I took Alice to the 'food courts'. It was nothing like one. Not the size of one nor the class of one. It was just a small room on the bottom floor, with another room just of it where they freezed food or drinks. In it where a few benches, mainly for the staff if they ever got a break for a few minutes. This was probably the only seating area. Unless you prefered the floor. I on the other hand would probably prefer to go to a patients room, and talk casually. They liked those few minutes of normal.

Her shaking had slowed, but her heartbeat was still too fast, and her breathing was getting shallower. It worried me. She could easily have a panic attack, something i was not prepared for. I kept seeing flashes of me in her head. I didn't know if this was because she was scared, or whether she kept reminding herself of me, that she was with me, and it was okay.

Just incase i rested her on one of the benches, and walked away.

I picked up some bread, and sliced meat which was supposed to be mine. But i didn't need, or like food for that matter, and so Alice could have it. I made her a sandwich and paused at the side for a few seconds. Her thoughts had relaxed only slightly, and as i slowly walked over, i felt and heard her panic again.

"Alice, why are you afraid of me?"

She shook her head. "You're angry. Angry with Mr Franco."

"Yes, i am Alice. Why are _you _afraid of _me?"_

_"Because when people are angry, they hurt other people. Even when they don't mean to."_

"Alice, no matter how mad i am i would never hurt a child."

"People say that" she shrugged.

I walked over to her and picked her back up, then carried her back to her room.

Mr Franco had gone,and i couldn't hear or see him, so i rested her on her bed and passed her the sandwich i'd made.

Then, without another word i walked out of the door.

I couldn't allow her to be so scared, i had to leave her. It wasn't fair.

**Alice's POV.**

I stared at the door. Now i was calm, and able to think, i questioned what i had done.

I'd forced Dorian out of the room and i couldn't _see _him coming back.

But i was scared of him at the time, i was terrified. When people got angry, they did things they didn't mean to. No matter what they say before, they still do it when they're angry. I could have hidden it more though, seen if he would of. Perhaps then he wouldn't have left. I could have taken a few hits, i could have coped with a few bruises for a while. I still had some bruises left from when father had visited. He and mom were arguing about me, and then he came into me, and i asked what they were arguing about and got hit for it. I still had bruises on my legs and back. Mr whitton had'nt seen those yet. . .

Mr Franco would probably come in soon, take me for my next treatment or something.

And just like that i began to hear footsteps. Loud, hard footsteps. I crossed my fingers and squeezed my eyes shut, wishing and praying it was Dorian. But like I'd thought, it was Mr Franco.

His hair was wet, and flat against his head compared to it's usual big frizzy bomb. It made me wonder what he'd been doing. . .

His outfit was damp, too.

"While i'm at it, i thought i'd come and get you." He chuckled. "The sooner we get you better, the quicker little Dorian's disgusting relationship will end. Come here."

I followed his orders and walked out from my room, having to jog rather than walk to keep up with him as he walked down the corridors and up the stairs.

He took me to another floor i didn't know existed, although the only stairs on either end of the long corridor were going down, so it was clearly the top floor. We turned off to the fifth room on the left.

Inside was dark, but lighter than my room. I decided i'd start rating things like that. Next to the window there was a metal tub filled with water.

Next to that were several big bags of ice. I stared, bewildered and confused at what i was supposed to do. Either way, it didn't look very nice.

"You have a choice." Mr Franco whispered. Why was he whispering? "You can keep your vest and underwear on, or you can go completley naked. Some people prefer the second option, you don't stay as cold in the long run."

"Hmm?" Was all i could manage. What was he on about?

"You really aren't as clever as Mr Whitton takes you for, are you?" He laughed again and began pulling me over to the metal tub. "It's bath night. You're going into the bath, okay?"

"No. I am perfectly clean at the moment."

"Alice, you are filthy. Inside and out, you will undress and come straight to me."

"No." I said through my teeth, trying to copy Dorian. The way he did it was so. . .terrifying. Mine wasn't as good, Mr Franco just got extremley mad.

"Miss Brandon you will do exactly as i say this minute!" He shouted.

I stared at him. "I am not doing anything without Mr Whitton here."

He laughed. "Yes, because Mr Whitton will take away all your fears, won't he? He'll look after you, won't he? I'm sure he'd love to do this activity with you actually. It really is ashame that you need to do this so soon."

Mr Franco walked over and picked me up. I screamed Mr Whitton's name over and over again, but he never came. I knew he wouldn't.

And now there was nothing i could do.

* * *

**Dorian Whitton's POV**

I heard her screaming my name. Over and over again. It echoed down to the very bottom floor where i sat like a child. Sat, my knees to my chest, going over everything I'd just done. My name echoed to me again. What was she doing?

I got up and began running, following her voice. Mr Franco was in a meeting, it couldn't be him. My thoughts were that she just wanted me, she woke up from sleeping or something silly like that and wondered where i was. She might have forgot some things.

Then i heard a loud splash followed by a scream. I knew exactly where she was, and i recognized that scream exactly. Alice had been put into the bath. But by who? Alice's treatment had been ticked for the day, she was knew, she only had treatment once a day. Nobody would put her through something again.

By the time i got there it was silent. The door was locked. The _metal _door was locked.

I thought for a matter of seconds, moving on the spot nervously. If i broke down the door, Mr Franco would know something was up.

Then i heard a gasp, and then a cut off scream. I needed to get into her, now.

I didn't care what Mr Franco thought, i grabbed the handle and literally ripped. The door fell back.

I ran in, scaring Mr Franco. He jumped up and glared at me.

"How did you get in here?" He snapped.

I ignored his question and ran over to the bath. Alice lay there, still as a statue. Only her face came above the water, her body practically bare.

"What have you _done?"_ I shouted at him.

"Basic treatment." He answered, although my question was more rhetorical.

"She has had treatment today already." I hissed picking Alice up. Her body was limp and i had to pull her vest more appropriatley around her.

It sickened me what Mr Franco had done with her, she was in underwear and a vest, although her vest was ripped and barely even on her.

"What were you _doing _with her? She is _ten years old._"

Mr Franco laughed. "Interesting ten year old then."

At that point i wanted to thrash out at him. Hit him, even kill him. I actually struggled to stop my hands from moving. Instead i growled at him and stormed out of the room, Mr Franco laughing behind me.


	6. Chapter 6

**Jimmy's POV**

I was thinking back to when I first tried to warn Alice. She was a tiny girl, If i didn't know much about her, I'd think she was younger than ten. I didn't know her personality. I wanted to. Florence said, from what she's heard from Dorian, she's a nice girl. A happy girl. Of course that would all change though. She'd become different, upset, angry, nervous. Every possible word opposite to happy.

I'd only been in here just under a year, took me about six months until i knocked some real sense into myself. Realized what they were doing after about four months, and with some real pressure on myself, it took me about two months to get some sense.

I was just another of Mr Franco's favorites. Although i was more like his tester pet now, due to my behavior. He sort of got fed up of me. In a strange way, that was a knock down. When i had Mr Franco, whether he was being evil or not, it was still something. Someone _wanted _me. And it felt good. The whole reason i was placed in this stupid place was because of my behavior. My mother never cared for me, she hated me. Hated most men. Then my father died. Two years ago now, doesn't feel that long though. I isolated myself, hid myself and made sure nobody could see, or feel my emotion. It was weird. Other family got worried about me, it didn't help that i barely knew them. So i ended up here. The torture took some of the pain away-that makes no sense. It took the pain from my heart away. Physical pain did that for me, for a time. Then it all came back. I've begged Mr Franco before to take me somewhere. Hurt me. Hit me. Anything. Thinking, it was stupid now. I got hurt for no good reason but selfishness.

I began hearing footsteps down the corridor. You only have to be in here a few weeks until your ears adjust. You can hear footsteps easier than anything else, you can almost hear who's footsteps are who's after a bit. You now it begins to get bad when you know who just screamed, by just listening to the scream.

My door shook slightly and creaked as it opened. I was pretty sure it was Miss Jaymes. She had a light, almost bouncy footstep. But there was someone with her, someone with a. . .sadder footstep?

"Hello, Jimmy" Florence smiled at me warmly. _My_ smile of the day that was.

Surprisingly her hair was down, bouncing in big, beautiful curls down her shoulders. The red, even now, was shocking against her pale, slim face and big, startling green eyes. Sometimes you just wanted to stare.

"Hello" I managed to smile back and jumped up from my bed, trying not to stumble, and went up to her and the new girl.

"This is Elise" She explained.

I looked at the new women. She couldn't have been much over 20. Her hair was also down, but it was perfectly straight and a golden blond. In a weird way, it reminded me of the sun. Her eyes were a sea blue. She was skinny, with a slim face which was slightly too pale to be healthy, but on the bright side of things, she'd fit in here.

"Hello, Elise" I smiled.

She smiled back at me but only nodded as her greeting.

I sat back down and waiting for my drugs. That's what Flo' called them anyway. I wasn't sure if it was bad for you drugs that she had to give me because of Mr Franco getting me addicted when i was younger, or good drugs anymore. It just. . .confused me. So i didn't bother asking.

She just passed me a little blue tablet and a little white tablet, and then my _least _favorite, the big red tablet. I took them without moaning.

"You have to go for your run today" Flo' talked as she walked around, arranging some things in my room. "Mr Wrill wants every boy to do fifty laps around the whole building, including the round the courts over the back."

"Every boy in the asylum?"

"Yes, every boy. And even more shocking, he's bought a activities outfit you have to wear." She finally found what she was looking for. It was a green short sleeve polo shirt with black shorts. They looked quite nice compared to what we usually wore.

"Wow" I smiled, taking them of her.

"Get changed, quick. We have to be out soon."

She turned her back as did Elise and i quickly got changed into my new clothes. They were a bit big, but i liked big. Big was cool, and comfty.

"Okay" I said once they were on.

"They fit quite nice. Come on."

We began walking out the door. Elise looked awkward and out of place, but i didn't say anything.

We kept going until we reached the feilds that surrounded the asylum. They looked sort of nice at first, the first time you came off the long, winding path and onto the grass. If you didn't look up, or far enough, you wouldn't see the big metal fences with long winds of barb wire covering the top. The worst was if you were too close to the gates, and you could see the big, metal doors. They were probably three of me, and I was 5'8". Fairly tall...ish. I kept staring at the grass in front of me as we walked. Most of the boys were already in a line a few yards away from us.

I joined the line, everyone was silent. Soon, i was bored, and so, i looked around.

First of all i saw the tall, metal fences and the barb wire-again. I soon took my gaze from there, and looked over the rest of the courts. To the left of me were the 'courts'. We went in there to play the very odd 'game'. It wasn't that fun though. It was mainly when we were taught how to do certain things. Like how to do push ups and things. Not fun really. Then there were a few more feilds, and you saw the asylum. From the gates, the main gates, it wasn't in the slightest _daunting. _It didn't look big, or scary. It just looked like a very, very big building. It's when you got closer that it appeared daunting and to be truthful, downright terrifying. It was enormous, size of at least five mansions. The inside was just at bad to be honest.

Then i saw people. Other kids over on the other side of the asylum, but these were laughing and playing around. Well, sort of laughing. If you could laugh in this place. They were playing though, pushing and chasing each other. Others were messing with one anothers hair or neatening their clothes. They were going to be in trouble. I saw Dorian from across the field then. He jogged over from somewhere behind the asylum and went over to the girls. I knew it was him, his hair, his clothes, his skin. Just him. You just knew. He began to line up the girls and make them be good and quiet. He stopped at one girl at particular and bent down. Even from here he seemed concerned. His posture and body language always gave him away. She kept nodding and moving from side to side uncomfortably. What was wrong with her?

"Dorian, would you please stop messing with her" I could hear Mr Wrill's shouts from here. They seemed to echo around the grounds from his big, booming voice. Either that, or he really was shouting extremely loudly.

Dorian's head shot up and his snarled, baring his teeth. And then, as if snapping himself out of something he couldn't control, he looked down and pretended to cough.

**Dorian's POV**

(Start's from when he's kneeling by Alice)

"They shouldn't be making you do this still" I muttered again.

They shouldn't. But you had to, didn't you? Everybody always had to. It was so stupid. I should have just took her out, gone out early and took her with me. Hid her or something while i took a very short hunting trip and maybe took her around for a few hours. I don't know what i would have done. Probably a plan of the top of my head.

Down point was that someone would look for her. Not find her. Punish her. Simple.

"I'm fine, really" She smiled at me.

"Your not. Really."

Her reasurence didn't reasure me in the slightest.

"Dorian, would you please stop messing with her" Mr Wrill shouted across the field. I snarled at him instinctively. I saw his eyes widen slightly and I quickly looked down, pretending to cough.

Alice kept rocking from side to side, as if impatient. I knew different though.

"You're not doing it." I said one last time. And i believed myself. . .then.

"And how are you going to stop me? Stop him?" Her eyes glanced up at him and shot back down.

I thought about it for a few seconds. The boys had just started running, it would be only a matter of minutes before the girls begun.

"You're not. You're ill. End of."

Mr Wrill was three girls away. On Gracie. The _new _Gracie he called her. Sick man. He had a very unhealthy obsession with her.

"Alice?" She looked at me. "You're brothers dead." I hated it worked.

Alice stared at me, frozen. Her face went pale, and she began to sweat. Then, just at the right time, just as Mr Wrill came up to us, she was sick. On him.

"Alice?" I pretended to be concerned, although it wasn't hard. She was really giving it some."I need to go and clean her up. I'll bring her back to the fields quickly."

Mr Wrill looked at me for a few painful seconds and then just nodded his head.

I picked Alice up and began jogging around the field. If Alice hadn't been sick over Mr Wrill, she probably wouldn't have got away with this.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I couldn't see her, i had her over my shoulder, incase she was sick again.

"I'm fine" she sounded way too chirpy.

I pulled her down and cradeled her in my arms. She was smiling, still slightly pale, but otherwise okay.

"I told you you're brother had died." I chocked out.

She laughed. "Well, I don't have a brother, and anyway, don't you think i would have _seen_?"

I thought about it for a second.

"How the hell did you do _that _then?"

**Sorry about the time. My computer is completlety bust. Majorly. I'm using a friends laptop, can't get it too often. . .So I'll try (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**Dorian's POV.**

We were back to her room. I'd passed her a damp cloth. I don't know how she'd managed this still.

"It's easy really." She said suddenly.

I looked at her, not sure how to feel, so stuck for the plain, bored expression hoping it wouldn't offend her too much. "How is it?"

"Well, I make a decision, a. . .nasty one or something and then i have a vision. They happen really quickly usually. Quick and clear. I was sort of counting on it really, and then it was quick, and I felt ill and . . . so on."

It seemed the visions had matured her slightly. In a strange way. If it wasn't the visions, it was something from home. Family issues?

"You're very mature for your age" I smiled at her.

She was clean and changed now, done. I was glad. Sick wasn't pleasant, even for me.

"Suppose" She mumbled. "Shouldn't I be back on the feild now?"

"No Alice, you're ill. After everything you shouldn't be going out there. People who are ill shouldn't be out there. It's all stupid."

"Calm down" She smiled at me, clearly joking.

* * *

**Alice's POV**

It must have been about half an hour. Dorian was sat in my chair just across the room from me. He seemed to be deep in thought, slightly concerned. I was worried about him, but didn't say anything. Why am I worried about him anyway? He is just thinking, like mother would, or teachers would. He was thinking like anyone else but i was worried about him. This was getting annoying.

He looked up at me. I noticed I'd been watching him. He looked me up and down and smiled.

"Oh well. I'm going to hell anyway"

"Huh?"

He walked up to me and held out his hand. I took it without thinking first and he began to walk from the room.

"Dorian, where are we going? What are we doing?"

He chuckled quietly. "We're going out."

I looked up to him, confused. From my height, he was very tall, but i could still clearly see his face. His face was pale still, it made me wonder if he was ill or something, but he didn't _seem _ill. His hair was perfect as usual, unlike a lot of people here. Getting essential things such a brushes was apparently hard according to Dorian, but his managed to stay perfect everytime. The thing that always caught your attention though, that always seemed to hypnotize you was his eyes. They were black at the moment. I think. Could they be a very dark brown? I'd never heard of black eyes before. Perhaps they were normal? They were a very dark, perhaps terrifying black either way. I wouldn't like to have black eyes.

He looked down at me, probably feeling my stare. I looked away quickly but from the corner of my eye, i could see his smirking. He'd obviously seen me.

We'd gotten to the doors within a few minutes, I wasn't too far away from the doors anyway.

All the way there we hadn't seen anybody. I'd heard the odd scream. You got used to them very quickly, so I put them as background noise. Screaming was just part of this place.

"So, where _exactly_ are we going?" I asked.

He stopped suddenly and looked down at me. He looked worried again, thinking too hard over something. Something simple? Something easily resolved?

"You know I said I was going out a while ago?" I nodded. "Well, now I am. But with you."

"You said you couldn't bring me" I tried not to sound upset, but it ended out coming annoyed. Both were as bad as each other, but at least he wouldn't know he'd hurt me again.

"Well I am. I don't care. This. . .this might be the last time you get to come out again Alice, it's only fair."

"Why is this the last time I'm going to go out?" I asked before he could carry on.

He sighed. "You have to trust me on something. It's. . .dangerous. But it won't hurt you. Trust me?"

He'd confused me. First, he hadn't answered my question. Second, I had to 'trust him' ?

I never answered. I didn't know what to answer. Dorian sighed again and looked away to the fences.

"Alice?"

"Yes?" I whispered.

"Do you trust me? It won't be long. . ."

What won't be long?

I realised I hadn't answered again.

He sighed one last time, looked at the floor and picked me up. I couldn't look at him.

Without speaking, he'd carried me back to my room and placed me down on my bed.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I know you find it hard to trust people. I just. . .I'll see you later"

I stared at him for a few seconds. He didn't seem to move for a long time. But then he went. And he went quickly.

It had only been seconds, so i ran outside. My mind was a bit of a mess, but he wasn't leaving me here, not now. He'd said it would be my only time outside again. _Why?_

He wasn't in the corridors so I ran down the stairs, but he wasn't at the bottom of the stairs, either. I began to panic.

Nobody was around still, so i continued to run through the doors. It was easy enough with no-one around. Outside was harder though. Where me and Dorian had been before was practically deserted, but now I could already see three tall, young men not far from where I was crouched. Dorian was no where in sight though. How fast could he really walk? I continued to run out, past the tall pillars that lead all the way down to the path, then at least half way down the path before I saw a massive group of boys jogging round the corner. I began to run as fast as I could, but it probably wouldn't help. One of them would have seen me by now.

"Oi!"

"Hey!"

"Don't bother escaping" One laughed. "You'll just kill yourself"

"Alice! Don't!" I recognised his voice. Turning, i recognised the face too. They were all closer than I'd thought was possible already. The one that was talking to me was Jimmy, for definate.

An older man came running from behind the rest of the group. He was about twenty, short, dark brown hair, glasses and very, very muscular. You could see his muscles through his _lose_ shirt. His eyes searched the space infront of the boys and stopped when they saw me. He smirked and began running for me.

My heart lept out of my chest. I searched around me like he had, but never saw what i was looking for. What _I_ wanted. Dorian wasn't there. I turned back, the man was already quite close. He could really run.

I felt stupid, but i ran. What hope i thought i ever had, I didn't know. And as I thought, by the time I was out of breath (after a few foot) he had me. His arms wrapped around me, he was laughing. He curled me up so he could look at me and smiled.

"Hello" His voice was like velvet. Even at my age all you wanted to do was listen to it. "Planning on going somewhere?"

**Review PLEASE (:**


	8. Chapter 8

I was shaking too hard to understand. My body ached. I bit down hard on my lip to try and stop myself shaking, but it just hurt. Hurt like the rest of me.

The man was walking with me to the top floor. He kept looking down on me and smirking. Laughing to his own little jokes.

He didn't speak till we were on the top floor.

"My name is James. James Dearo." He said.

I tried saying my name, but I couldn't. My throat had completely failed on me.

We stood there for a while. I don't know why. We just stood in front of a big, silver door. From the outside you could see several locks, and the keys to them on a hook on the wall. Only on the outside though. . .

I didn't like it upstairs. It was cold, and dark. Everything seemed to be worse up here too. Every noise made you jump. I just wanted to run away.

I thought about it. _Running away._ Would he catch me again?

Probably.

I didn't have much time to think. Another man came jogging down the corridor, nodded to James, yanked the keys of the hook, and un-locked the door. I never got to look in. The man went in too quickly. The only thing I saw was a young girl, even younger than me. Her eyes were shut and her body was shaking violently. I cringed away.

"Come on then" James smiled.

I froze.

"Alice? Don't be silly" He laughed."Come on" He tugged on my arm. Through his strength, I couldn't help but fall forwards. Fall into the room.

* * *

"You have options" He began explaining.

I was sat on the floor, my eyes watering.

"Your first option, is whether you want to take any drugs or not." He stopped messing with the ropes in the corner and looked at me.

Was he expecting an answer?

"Your second option, is whether or not you want to be . . . asleep for a while after wards. It might help."

I managed to shrug.

"You do not care?" He sounded amused.

I shrugged again. My voice wasn't working properly still.

"Okay then."

He walked over to the table, opposite me. After a few seconds of looking, and loud scratching noises, he found what he was looking for.

"Shouldn't hurt you"

I nodded.

In his hands were two little plastic containers. Each rattled as he walked over. He crouched down to my height and smiled at me.

"You're a very pretty girl, aren't you?" He said while emptying the containers into his hands."It's a shame really. Your mother shouldn't have let -"

"My mother did nothing wrong" I snapped. As soon as I'd said it I regretted it. Where did that come from?

He just laughed though. "Whatever you say"

He wrapped his thumb and middle finger around my wrist gently and pulled my hand towards him. In my palm he dropped five tablets: three white and two blue.

"There you go" His voice was soft again.

I clenched my hand into a fist. "I'm not taking them."

He looked up to me surprised. "Why is that?"

_Because Dorian said I shouldn't. . ._"Because I'm not allowed."

"By who's orders?" His voice got rougher, angrier.

I didn't want to say his name, so just kept my mouth shut.

"By who's orders?" He repeated.

I jumped slightly. "Dorian's" My voice came out as a whisper, if that. Nothing like how I wanted to sound.

"You and Dorian are close?" He asked.

"Not really" I lied.

He laughed.

* * *

I still held the tablets in my hand. James was walking around the room, messing with strings and wires. He walked over to the table again and opened one of the draws attached to the bottom. He was more careful in this draw, instead of throwing things from side to side until he found what he needed, he picked things out. It took him longer, too, but when he had it, my heart jumped. It was a long, silver blade. Shining even in this dim light. I began to move, shuffle to the side as quietly as I could. To the left of me was another table, perhaps I could get under that. It was so big he probably wouldn't reach me.

He turned suddenly, stopping me with a jump.

"Come on Alice" You could see he was trying not to laugh. He just looked so happy. . . "Take the tablets. We don't have long."

I shook my head. "No."

My head smashed against the wall, it was hard, concrete. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying my hardest not to scream or cry.

"Alice, I really don't like hurting you. Take the tablets."

I didn't know whether to say no again. I'd be hurt again. Dorian wouldn't like that. Or would he care? I'd hurt him, again. I could tell. I always hurt him. Why should he care? Perhaps I was seeing it wrong from the beginning. . .

"No." I whispered.

I was chucked to the side. My head hit the floor and whacked back into the table leg. I couldn't help crying now. It happened too quickly. It was too painful.

"For God's Sake, Alice!" He shouted.

I opened my eyes the best I could to see him, but my vision was wet and blurry.

James kicked every box in the room before turning back to me.

"Don't be so ridiculous!"

"Why don't you?" I screamed back at him.

I felt his foot did into my stomach. _Once. . .Twice. . .Three times. _I couldn't even breath properly now. This was when I shut up.

"Dorian is a very, very bad influence on you. _He_, Alice, _He is going to HELL."_

I cringed away from his words, his voice.

My head was banging, my stomach throbbing.

"Forget the tablets then!" He shouted with a little laugh. "They were for your own good, Alice. Your own good"

His arms reached down and yanked me up from the floor. I heard something in my body crack loudly. James laughed.

* * *

**James' POV**

I stood outside waiting. The door was locked and bolted. Alice inside.

I didn't want to harm her like that. I honestly didn't. Alice seemed different. I'd defiantly be looking more closely into her files. . .

I wondered where Dorian was. I'd been talking to Franco lately, he'd said they were close already. Close in a bad way. It wasn't right for them to be together, that Dorian _loved her. _How could he love an eleven year old?

Alice screamed one last time. I guessed it was nearing the end. Perhaps it was doing her some good. Being spun round and round did a lot of people good. . .

I picked up the keys and un-locked the door.

When I walked in her head was dropped, her body limp. Blood stuck to both her wrists and face, even on some of her clothes. I undid her from the tight straps and held her in my arms like you would a baby. It was easy this way.

I tried not to catch anybody's attention on the way back. I had a girl, looking no older than seven, half _dead _in my arms. It wasn't a good look. Especially if Dorian found out.

When I got to her room I threw her onto the bed, face down. Her body was so cold, limp. . .lifeless.

_She'll be fine in the morning. _I said to myself. _If she's still alive. . ._

**_Revieeeew (:_**


	9. Chapter 9

**Dorian's POV**

I ran back in to the asylum, making sure no one saw me.

I had some things to do, a lot of things to do. First though, I would see Alice. Make sure she was okay.

I knocked on the door gently and waited for her reply. But nobody did reply. . .

Where was she? It had been two whole days.

"Alice?" I called through the door.

No reply.

I pushed the door but it was locked.

"Flo'?" I shouted down the hall.

Nobody. Where was everyone?

"Dorian?"

I turned to see Elise on the staircase.

"Elise! Do you know where the keys to Alice's room are?"

She shook her head. "Mr Dearo had them."

Mr Dearo. . .? James?

I ran back across the hallway, shouting my thanks back to Elise. I listened for thoughts, for James, but nothing came up. He was gone. Everyone was gone. Somewhere. . .I continued running, trying to listen for anyone. After about ten minutes I gave up. In this block. The asylum was huge, there were four blocks, each one for different things, different types of illnesses. I went to block two, mainly used for the torture - or as other people called it, medicine. Help. Mr Wrill's room was in here too though. I ran through the block, trying my hardest to ignore the cries and the screams. I could swear Mr Wrill had his room at the far end for a reason. This block was more full. With the 'other' staff though. The staff split too. James should have been in this block, and this block only. He had no right to be near Alice.

I began to hear voices, lots of them, near Mr wrill's room. I ran towards them.

Just normal staff.

"Dorian?" I knew the voice. James Dearo. He really would make a brilliant vampire, if he wasn't so sadistic. His looks, his mind. . .the way his mind worked was exceptional.

I turned anyway. He was at the other end of the hall, smiling, a single key swinging from his finger.

"James." I said.

He looked down, smiling, and began to walk towards me.

"I'm sorry I got you. . .worried. I didn't want to leave her key in the wrong hands. If you know what I mean. So I kept hold of it. I've been meaning to find you really, give it back. Alice should be fine. I checked on her only this morning."

I nodded and met him halfway, un-hooking the key from his finger.

"Thank you" I said. "I'll see you again"

He nodded, laughed to a private joke and walked away. I waited until he was out of sight and then ran.

* * *

I un-locked the door to Alice's room a little too eagerly, shouting "Alice" as I walked in.

She was lay on the bed, her face hidden by the pillow. I pulled the pillow off her and froze.

Her body was white and cold, bruising covered her whole body. . .Scratches, bruises. . .blood.

My first concern was how long she'd been here, I looked around and saw a glass of water in the corner. I picked Alice up, holding her in my arms like I was a small baby, picked up the water, and gently pressed it to her lips.

She was defiantly un-conscious. I pulled the blanket of her bed and wrapped it round her careful, keeping her in my arms.

"Have you seen Dorian?" I heard a Florence ask from outside.

"I'm in here!" I shouted out to here. "Alice's room"

I heard her run towards me.

"Where have you been? Alice's room has been locked for _three days._ I thought she would be . . . I thought she'd be dead or something. I was terrified. Looked for you in every block, asked every person I possibly could for you, or the keys to her room."

"Sorry" Was all I could say.

My mind was fixed on Alice. Her body still cold in my arms. I didn't help, but she felt safer in my arms. If I was calm. Hopefully she'd wake up soon. I was worried because of her heartbeat also, it was going too slow, almost like it wasn't there as times. It stuttered every few minutes, too. Whatever James had done, and I knew he'd done _something _it was bad.

Florence looked at me then, looked at me properly. Her eyes bulged slightly, and she gasped.

"She isn't. . ."

I shrugged. She was alive at the moment, yes, whether she would be in five minutes, or an hour was another matter.

"Dorian. . .I'm so sorry"

Why was she apologizing to me?

"Why?" I asked.

She stared at me. "You - You. . .you and Alice were very close"

Humans. They should really think through their words before saying them. Not that that would make much difference to some of us. Some like me.

Florence came closer and sat on the bed next to me. I flinched away - no idea why. I pulled Alice closer to me and steadied my breathing.

"Can you get some water please? She needs it. A lot of it."

Florence nodded and scurried out of the room.

I felt my eyes water. Her heartbeat got slower and slower as the seconds ticked by. She was surely going to die in my arms, and I was useless. There was not one thing I could do for her. No hope.

* * *

Florence ran back in. I didn't know whether she'd hurried or whether time was just going much faster than it should. She had what I wanted though, she had the water. Lots of it, too.

"Thank you"

She gave me a quick smile.

It was all in bottles which was helpful. I pressed the bottle to her lips again and helped her to drink.


	10. Chapter 10

_Four days, twenty hours, sixteen minutes, thirty-two seconds._

I could see the worry in Florence's eyes. I could see how I was now hurting her, but my mind wouldn't work on that. It didn't want to, or seem to need to, either. Cruel-yes. But right now, I couldn't care less. Her worry was understood. I'd been sat here for almost two days now, holding Alice in my arms. Never moving. I'd had to wrap her in more blankets, so she wouldn't be cold. It seemed to have worked. That was about the only thing I'd done. Flo' had bought in food and water daily. I took it, waited for her to leave the room, and give it to Alice. The water anyway.

Alice's heartbeat continued to slow. I was amazed at how weak the heart could be, while she was still alive. Any human would have passed her off as dead by now. _Like Flo' had._ My mind shot at me. I shook it off and looked down to Alice again, listening. I was sure that if her heart got any weaker, she _would _die. This scared me. Although it shouldn't. I knew she was dying now, she was getting closer and closer to death as the seconds went by. She _was _going to die, and I was useless. I'd never really been _useless _before.

Florence walked in again, perhaps for the sixth time today. She passed me some more water. I smiled at her, hoping she wouldn't see how fake it was. It wasn't that I wasn't grateful, just that I couldn't really be happy right now.

"Dorian. . .I think. . .I think you should let her go now. We both know that sh-That things happen a lot, and that we can't control them and sometimes things happen that we don't like but we're not supposed to be emotionally attatched-"

"Alice is not _dead._" I hissed.

She jumped back slightly and I felt guilty.

"Sorry" I murmered.

"No, no you're right. She is. . ." She trailed off.

I nodded not really wanting to speak. I pulled Alice up slightly so she was closer to me, but not making real contact. I couldn't let her body get cold. The same thought crossed my mind again, _Change her. _Change. Her. I really don't think I could. What if I didn't stop? What if something went wrong? She still had _some _hope right now. Even if it was a million to one chance, it was still _a _chance. If something went wrong with me changing her. . .I'd never done it before, either. I wouldn't stop. Besides, she was too young. Eleven was too young. The Volturi would probably want to talk with me about her. Or in other words, they'd want to look at her, kill me, then if she was useless, kill her too.

Florence had walked out. I'd never noticed. . .

I sat there again, in silence.

**Alice's POV**

I kept fighting. I didn't know why. It was beginning to be too much though. I couldn't take much more. It hurt more and more every minute. It was the sort of pain where you just wanted someone to kill you. You'd beg. I was aware it was quite cold, I could feel blankets wrapped around me. I could feel everytime someone, probably Dorian, pressed the cold, refreshing water to my lips.

I was pretty sure I was with Dorian. I thought I could sometimes hear his voice, but I couldn't be sure. There were a lot of voices. All of them were distant. Like I was deep inside a cave and they were outside. Bad analogy. They were far away, whoever they were.

**Dorian's POV**

"Hello?"

I looked up to the door. It was open, James stood straight center. He was in a gray jumper and trousers, with his work coat on. A long, white coat. His hair seemed longer than usual.

I didn't say anything.

"Is she okay?"

I shrugged.

"I didn't do anything."

I shrugged again. He couldn't lie to me.

"I'm sorry still though."

"You? Sorry" I scoffed.

He stared at me for a long minute. "I am, Dorian. Alice is a very beautiful, very clever young girl who's hopefully going to grow up _sane._"

"Sane? You don't think she already _is?_ She is perfectly fine." I said through my teeth.

"Of course she isn't, Dorian. She wouldn't be here otherwise. You know we don't have much room. We wouldn't take her if she was _sane" _

I didn't say anything. There was no point.

"I bought her these, they might help" He walked over and dropped two tablets on the bed.

I stopped myself growling.

Luckily-for him-he left at that moment.

I picked them up and tried to identify them, but it was hard. They were small and white, with no number, or image. Odd. I held them both between my fingers and very gently squeezed. It crushed to a powder.

Florence walked in again. I was worried she was wasting her shifts on me. She'd get into trouble for that. I got into trouble, but it didn't bother me. Mr wrill wouldn't hit me, or even shout at me. He'd just ask why, and what I was doing. I was 'assigned' to Alice now, too. So if I said I'd been with Alice, I usually wouldn't get any hassel. Mr franco still wasn't aware I was the person who was supposed to look after her. I hadn't seen him for a while though. I wondered if everyone knew she was ill? Florence would get hit after so many misses. He was allowed to do that-Sort of. Nobody on the outside really dared to come in here, or near for that matter. So rather than being allowed, he just did it. Nobody cared except me.

"I just came to see if you were okay. If you. . .wanted anything"

"I'm fine" I said."Thank you"

Florence sighed. "Is Alice. . .really," She paused and walked over to me. "Is sh-she a-alive? Still?" She stuttered.

I nodded. She came closer and sat on the bed next to me, reaching over, she touched Alice's face.

"How do you know?" She asked, stroking Alice's cheek gently.

"I-" I could _hear _it? That would go down great! "I just. . .know" My voice broke for the first time in my life. Annoying.

"Would you mind if I checked?" Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. I didn't need to be able to feel her fear to know she was scared.

I knew I'd have to let her. Maybe she'd calm down then. Not be so worried about us. Besides, as far as she knew I wasn't sure if she was alive, when in truth, i defiantly knew that right now, she was alive. She'd have to check, it would be weird for me to say no to her.

"Umm, no. I-I wouldn't mind"

I still didn't take her from my arms. I don't know if I could. Until now, I hadn't realised how much I really loved Alice. Florence slowly pulled the blanket off of her instead. I took her arm from beneath the last blanket and rest it on her lap.

"There" I said.

Florence nodded and pressed her fingers to Alice's wrist.

"Is she cold?" I asked.

Florence shook her head, concentrating.

I listened for her heartbeat too.

The second I heard it beat, Florence jumped slightly.

"Told you" I said.

"One beat, Dorian? One very slow beat?"

I tucked Alice back into the blankets and pulled her close to me.

"She's alive." I said.

* * *

**Alice's POV**

How long had I been doing this for now? Fighting. Fighting death. Days? Weeks? _Why? _

I'd heard Dorian's voice earlier. It was defiantly him. His voice seemed clearer, closer. Was that what I was fighting for? Dorian?

A women was with him. I thought it was Florence, but I could be wrong on that one. She wasn't as clear.

I wanted to wake up now. To tell Dorian what pain I was in. To even see him...

He could help me then. He'd look after me, like he was now. He'd never give up on me. I know he wouldn't. I needed him.

* * *

**Florence's POV**

Five days. Five days he'd been there now. Never moving. Hardly speaking.

I'd recently came from Mr wrill's room. Just walking over the block to my block. Nobody was really around, so I managed to clean myself up a bit before anyone really saw me. I didn't want Dorian seeing me. I could tell he was worrying about me. Probably worrying I was going to be hurt because of not doing my shifts properly. And I did get hurt, he'd hit me several times. But nothing too bad. Maybe a few bruises at the most. I could handle that. Dorian wouldn't. He'd just get more stressed, more annoyed. He'd lash out. I was amazed at the self-control he had already. People pushed him and pushed him, especially with Alice now. It was weird that they hadn't known each other long, but he seemed so attatched to her, people could see it. They pushed him futher and further. One of these days he was going to lash out. . .one of these days. He was only human. I think.

I walked down the corridor to Alice's room. The door was already open slightly, so I just peeked in. I'd just check if he was asleep or not.

He had moved, but he wasn't asleep. He was slouching more against the wall with resting her head on his shoulder.

"How are you?" I asked.

Dorian looked up to me and smiled. Really smiled.

"Alice, she's waking up. I'm sure. She keeps moving. See how she is?" I looked. Alice had moved from being cradelled in Dorians arms to resting her head on his shoulder, and her body more stretched out. "She moved herself"

He sounded like a child on christmas day. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Talk to her. Perhaps she'll respond, I'll go and get some water."

Always lots of water. I was concerned about how much she needed to eat. She hadn't had anything. But Dorian asured me people had lasted up to 70 days without food. Alice was in a different condition though, she'd probably last about two weeks at most. She was just so tiny. . .

I took the water back to Dorian again. He looked like someone had just bought him a mansion.

"Is she still okay?" I asked.

"Dorian?" I heard her whisper. It made me jump. Her voice was so tiny and weak. . . "Dorian?"

"Yes, Alice?"

"I'm hungry" She moaned.

Dorian laughed.

"How long has she been awake?" I asked.

"Not long, but she seems okay. I think her body was recovering, all that time she was gone..."

I nodded and passed Dorian the water.

"Can you get something to numb the pain please? She said she was in pain."

I nodded and hurried out the room.

* * *

**Revieeeew(:**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, so here's the deal. This story is already going to be quite long, and so I need to go from week to week roughly. Like, it would be Alice roughly every week of her time, rather than every day, or every few days, like it has been. You have to understand, too, (if you didn't already know) that at the asylums, these people got 'treated' but it was actually 'torture' and they did it because they thought they were helping them, and every person went through some kind of treatment every day, whether it was tablets or just abuse, or the actual physical stuff. So, these people are pretty messed up. . .Just keep that in mind (: Thanks.**

_(Set two weeks after Alice woke up) _

**Alice's POV**

I wondered whether to go out. It wouldn't hurt, would it?

My mind played with me, one person telling me to go, one telling me not to.

I was ill still for one, Dorian had put me on medication since that time I was very ill. I'd been un-conscious for almost a week apparently, it hadn't seemed that long for me. I had no concept of time though then. My whole mind was focused on staying alive...

Dorian had put me in my room since. He hadn't let go of me for days, then wouldn't leave me alone for another few. It was weird having him permanently there, the company, not that I didn't like it. But now I missed him. Missed the company. I knew he was only outside, doing his work, that's all. He was maybe a few rooms down as I thought. Sat here with a look on my face equal to a toddler without their own way. Then again, I thought it wouldn't hurt if I just went out and saw him . . .

_No, _I told myself.

I got up anyway, feeling slightly dizzy and having to grip the bed tightly to stop myself falling over. I kept forgetting I was ill. I didn't feel very ill when I was sat down, or not doing anything.

I got up again and - slowly - walked over to the corner of my room, crawled under the rocking chair and pulled out my color box from the hidden corner. Dorian had bought me some colors back a few days ago, Florence had watched over me carefully, and he was only gone an hour.

I sat back on my bed and began to draw. I didn't have to think really, it was easy what I was going to do. I'd draw Dorian. I liked doing him.

* * *

I'd just finished the drawing when Dorian walked in, a big smile on his face, a glass of water in his hand.

I quickly scrambled up and hid the drawing away from him, the sketch had been finished, but I wanted to color it before he saw it.

"What's wrong?" He asked, worry in his voice.

I shrugged, trying to look relaxed - It was hard, I saw the tablets in his hand. "I'm doing a picture, and it isn't finished yet." I smiled innocently.

"Any idea when it will be?"

I nodded. "When you see it"

He stared at me, an amused expression on his face, for a few seconds. "Right."

I nodded and started to put my pencils away. I didn't really like drawing in pencil, but they didn't have anything else. Dorian said he'd try.

After it was all cleaned he sat on the end of my bed, still smiling at me. I pretended not to really notice, but it was _really_ hard.

"You're terrible at this" He laughed.

I looked up at him and pretended to be hurt. "Really?"

"Yes, really." He said, and passed me the glass of water.

I noticed my face was all scrunched up and toddler looking again. I quickly smoothed it and took the glass of him.

"Be good, and take them." He ordered.

"But they taste nasty" I moaned.

He laughed again. "Well then, the quicker you take them, the quicker it will be over, and you'll stop stressing."

"Until tonight. And then the morning, and then the afternoon, and then the night-"

"Alice, be good"

I sighed nice and loudly to show him how much this bothered me, but it didn't seem to work. "Fine" I grumbled.

He smiled and watched me as I took the tablets.

"Good girl"

"Do you have to say that?" I kept scraping my tongue with me teeth trying to get the taste away. It was mainly in my throat, so I coughed every now and then for emphasis on how much this bugged me.

"Encourage you?"

"Well yes, encourage me. Just not like I'm four. . . "

He laughed. "Right-o"

I felt the tablets kicking in again. This is the other bit I hated. After the taste had passed. They made you all sleepy and you couldn't function properly after about five minutes.

"Doriaaaaaan" I whined.

"Come here" He picked me up and rest me on his lap. I shivered slightly, but passed it off as the tablets.

I shuffled, getting comfortable, and rest into his chest. The tablets were almost in full by now, sending my head all funny and making you tired. It sent your speech funny too, and you couldn't move well.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No" I slurred.

I felt his gaze on me. "Because of the tablets?"

I tried to say yes, but couldn't. Tried to nod...My head barely moved, but he chuckled, so I knew he had seen.

"See you in a bit" Was the last thing I heard.

* * *

**Dorian's POV**

I lay her on the bed and wrapped the blankets around her before she could freeze on my chest.

I watched her for a few seconds. She wasn't sleeping exactly, but it was fairly close. I enjoyed watching humans sleep, it was funny and somehow relaxing. I don't think they really understood how active they were at night.

I was about to go, perhaps meet Elise, see how she was. I think I had a meeting with Mr wrill, too, but the paper next to her bed caught my attention.

_"I'm doing a picture, and it isn't finished yet." She smiled innocently. _

_"Any idea when it will be?"_

_She nodded. "When you see it"_

When I see it. . .

I knew I'd feel bad afterwards, but that was afterwards.

I walked over and picked it up, turned it over, and stared at it.

It was another amazing drawing, perfect. She _was _an amazing drawer, she could get a living out of this. She could be rich for this. . .

It was me, just a portrait photo. My head was turned to the side slightly, but she got every single one of my features. Every single one perfect.

I smiled to myself, stared for a few more seconds. . .or maybe minutes, and then walked back out of the room.

* * *

I was right about the meeting with Mr wrill. He'd sent over fifteen people to come and 'remind me'. One would have done fine.

I walked over the blocks, it was busy today, and thought I'd use that as an excuse for being late. Really, I just _wanted _to walk slow. _Wanted _to see everyone, feel everything around me. Even if it was bad. I had to calm myself - the best I could. I was close to killing Mr wrill the other day. The way he thought he could just hurt Flo'...like she was nothing more than an animal. Something you could just hit, and train. Throw into corners. . .kick. . .assault. I couldn't think about it anymore. I was outside his office. . .why did things always seem shorter when you didn't want them to be?

I took a few deep breaths, knocked, and walked in.

"Dorian!" He smiled up to me - _really fake._

"Hello Mr wrill."

"Call me Cedric"

"Cedric" I muttered.

He nodded and showed me to my seat.

"As usual, because of your area, I need to review what you've been doing..."

He was looking down at a sheet of paper, reading it and rubbing his chin.

"I've been monitoring Alice mainly, like I said I would have to."

"Like you said you would have to?" He asked, almost suspicious.

I nodded. "I told you before, that Alice was very ill, and had to be treated constantly, under constant supervision for days, we were lucky it wasn't weeks, luckier she didn't die."

He shrugged, a smile playing at his lips. "Would have cleared some room either way"

I struggled not to growl, _or dive over the table and rip him apart piece by piece right this second..._My mind whispered to me.

Taking a few deep breaths, I spoke again. "Alice is very...different. A lot of people love Alice."

He stared at me..."Yes, I've heard about that." He chuckled, somehow making him look more stressed and tight. "Certain people have supposedly...obsessive views over Alice"

"And who is this then?"

"She is loved by many, some more than others. Some so much that they'd kill for her, that they might even be killed for her from what I've heard"

I felt myself get tense. "I don't know what you're on about..."

He laughed. "I won't pressure you, Dorian. Don't worry"

I didn't relax.

"So, over the past month all you've done is look after Alice?"

"Alice hasn't been here a _month._" I said, trying not to answer directly.

"For the three weeks and four days that Alice has been here, have you been looking after her, and only her?" He snapped.

"No."

"Who have you treated?"

I could tell I'd agitated him. He sat up straight in his chair, trying to look all superior...His tone was sharp, and although he tried to hide it, he _sounded _annoyed.

"James Scotard, Donald, Lucas, Ethan, Emè..." I named all the children I'd merely checked on, then asked Elise to cover, or all the children I'd just met. Elise wasn't given too much to do, so she didn't mind. She liked keeping herself busy, she said it took her mind off why she was really here. Took her mind of the real world...

"And the rest with Alice?"

I nodded.

He paused for a few seconds and looked up, confused.

"Why does she like being called Mary?" He asked.

"Just because of her...history" I said.

He nodded, not looking satisfied.

"Right, so, information on Alice, please?"

"What would you like to know?"

He shuffled in his chair. "Anything"

"Her name is Mary Alice Brandon. She got sent in here because of her visions, her visions of the future."

I'd annoyed him by stating the obvious.

"Does she have a close relationship with her father? Her mother?"

I shrugged. "I don't think her and her father get on too well, I haven't heard anything from her mother."

"We need to know more about this girl" He muttered.

"And why is that?"

He looked up at me, slightly surprised as if he hadn't meant for me to hear that.

"You know why Dorian, so we know her weakness."

"But why? I don't understand. They are humans. Just _different. _What is so wrong with _different?_"

He stared at me, slowly his face turned different shades of anger.

"They are different Dorian, you know that. And besides that, they were human. _Were._ You can go now"

I shrugged again, irritating him further, and walking out of the door without looking back.

* * *

My first job was to find Elise, talk with her. There had been more new arrivals.

I looked down at the paper in my hand;

_William Edwards_

_Felix Kendree_

_Emmett Chaife_

_Eli Saten_

_Seth Kin_

_Hazel Johnson_

_Harriet Taylor_

_Lila Rose_

_Violet Holford_

Okay, more than a few. I sighed.

I picked up my pace, Elise was probably struggling as we speak. But I couldn't help noticing the screaming and cries coming from down the hallway.

I turned and jogged down the other way, it was weird hearing them now I was in this block. Nothing was usually this bad.

Over in the corner, next to the stairs three women stood with younger girls, and a boy. Florence was with them, tears watering her eyes.

"I'm really sorry" I heard her say.

I ran the rest of the way and got a clearer look.

Darius, a sort of watch over, was stood, desperatley trying to keep hold of the the childrens arms. There were two girls, and a boy, I hadn't been able to count before. The boy was about six or seven, his blond hair was almost to his shoulders, and messy. His eyes were big, probably with fear, and a dark, almost shocking blue color. He was skinny, but tall, and very pale. I wondered if he was under-fed? The girls were the opposite, their hair was a very dark brown, with chestnut eyes and tanned skin. They were sort of smiling, but you could tell they were scared. The mother, or so I presume, was short with ash blond hair and a pale face.

"What's going on?" I tried not to shout...

"There is nothing wrong with my husband" The woman cried.

I turned to Florence who just looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Where is he?"

Darius coughed. I looked at him.

"Let go of the children."I added.

He released his grip. The two girls moved closer to their mother, but the boy stayed where he was.

"He's in here somewhere."

"Miss, you're...ill, too. You have to let go of your children." Florence murmured.

I pulled her arm and took her to the corner.

"She's seeing things, like, weird things. Sort of like Alice, but much different...And her husband...I'll explain later. He is physco."

"Why is she in here?"

"Because she needs a room."

"Well why is she still with the children?"

"She won't leave them, and I didn't want to get any of the other, harsher staff out. So I took her up here, hoping to get the kids of her" She sighed.

"How old are the children?"

This would just get confusing.

"Umm, the boy is seven I think, and the girls are five"

"The boy can stay, if really necassary-"

"Yes, about that. He is _weird._"

"The boy will stay with me then, the girls will have to go."

"Go where?" She sounded worried.

"You know where" I muttered, already walking over to the crowd.

"Darius, please take," I looked at the women expectantly for her name.

"Mrs Davies"

"Please take Mrs Davies to her room, the girls will have to be taken out to the orphanage, or...elsewhere" I didn't know where the _where _was exactly.

Darius held Mrs Davies arm with a little too much force, and just on time, Benjamin came up the stairs, looked at the situation, nodded to Darius, and held the girls arms.

I hated my job.

Mrs Davies screamed all the way down the staircase, her cries could still be heard as she left the building.

The young boy was quivering in the corner, wrapped into a tight ball and dangerously close to the edge of the stairs.

"Hello" I said, crouching down to see him.

**PLEASE, seriously PLEASE review (:**


	12. Chapter 12

**My FF was broke, still sort of is, the files won't upload? If anyone's had this problem please tell me if you know how to solve it. Thanks,**

**(about three days later)**

**Dorian's POV**

"I'm still not happy" Alice moaned, flitting around the room and collecting the pens she'd 'accidently dropped' when I'd told her I'd be with Dallus a lot. Dallus was the boy that had come with his parents a few days ago, he was just very emotional. He also had a very traumatizing life...

"Alice, you know it won't be too much." I lied.

"Don't lie to me Dorian." I tried not to laugh, she sounded so annoyed, and she was so funny when she was annoyed... "I know you're going to have to see him every single day, and then you won't see me as much. What's wrong with him anyway?"

"You know Alice, you're starting to get dangerously jealous...perhaps I'll have to stay away longer? Sort of...ween you off me." I laughed.

She didn't look amused, but when she spoke again, you could tell she wasn't trying to be annoyed.

"I just don't like having to share you."

She picked up the last of her crayons and put them in the box, put the box onto the rocking chair, and came over to sit on my lap.

"I know you don't." I smiled and held her in my arms, falling backwards playfully.

"So, what _is _wrong with him?" She asked again.

I sighed. I knew I had told her too much about the asylum and the people here, but I still kept saying things. I couldn't be bothered not to, and besides I couldn't keep things away from her.

"Nothing"

"Like usual?"

"Yes, like usual" I sighed.

Alice jumped up and sighed. "Isn't it about time Mr Franco found me?"

I felt my body tense. My whole mouth filled with poison.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, her voice closer than I expected.

I jumped away, struggling not to attack. My instincts were too strong for her to be around me.

"Dorian? Dorian, don't be silly" Her voice was wavering now.

I shut my eyes tightly and took several deep breaths, it didn't help much, but I could sort of function.

"Alice, you shouldn't say that."

"Sorry" She whispered.

I opened my eyes and saw her sat on the rocking chair, crying.

"Alice" My voice was barely audible.

I ran over to her and held her in my arms.

"Don't cry"

"I made you cry" She said.

"You didn't..."

"I did."

I couldn't argue. How was I going to prove to her she hadn't made me cry? 'Sorry Alice, but another thing i'm keeping from you, I can't cry.'

Ugh.

It was silent for a while.

"He thinks I'm doing it." I whispered. "He thinks I'm giving you the tablets, he thinks I take you upstairs almost every day. He thinks...He thinks I sometimes even take you into block two. I told him I took you to block three yesterday..."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up. Her tears were gone, and her face was pale white.

I shook my head. I would not tell her about block two and three.

"You shouldn't have mentioned it if you weren't going to tell me." She sounded annoyed again.

I sighed. "No, Alice."

She got up and stared at me.

"Tell me, Dorian...please" Her voice lost its demanding edge. She probably realized she was being childish. Alice didn't like childish, not after I'd told her how mature she was.

"No, Alice. I have to go and see Dallus now." I actually did, but she'd probably see this as her annoying me, and me then walking out on her.

"Here we go" She whined, and collapsed back on her bed.

"Don't be so spoilt Alice, you're not like this."

She just sighed, and I walked out.

**Alice's POV**

Stupid Dallus.

Stupid me.

Why was I being like this? I couldn't even explain my own actions. I was being spoilt, and annoying and _childish. _

I shuddered.

I lay there for a few more seconds, trying to clear my mind. I imagined a big, white canvas. It worked-For about ten seconds.

_Block three. Block two. Block three. Mr Franco. Dorian. Me. _

Just kept repeating in my head.

Over...and Over...and Over again.

Ugh.

I had to go and find out what was there. Why wouldn't Dorian tell me?

I got up and ran over to the door, not looking back, I pulled the door open with all my strength. It was difficult, the door was really heavy, and I was really weak. I was lucky my door was open, everyone else's was locked. Dorian left mine open though-sometimes. I looked either way, the halls were busy. I was going to have to run, and run fast.

I waited a few seconds, at least seven women were at the other end of the hall, three walking up, and two men carrying three people down the stairs. All three women walked into a room about five doors down from me, and a young girl was pulled out. I flinched as she screamed and cried. They were walking away now though, so I had to go.

I ran out, never looking back. And kept running and running until I was at the doors. I crouched in the corner, breathing heavily, not realizing where I was going. I hadn't planned that...

I looked around desperatley until I found a sign. It wasn't much, but it was something, and it read : **Block Two. **There had been an arrow by it, but half of it was gone. The half I needed.

I took my chances and ran the way I thought it was going.

Luckily, the corridors were empty in this part. I managed to run across and all the way down until I found a door. I pushed it open and ran outside, it was cold and dark. I ran across, it wasn't long until another door was infront of me. Leading me into another part of the asylum. Another part of hell. Above the door read **Block Two. **I smiled to myself, quite chuffed at how far I had come.

Inside was much different to my block. In a way, I realized why Dorian hadn't told me about this block. But it still didn't seem _enough _for him not to tell me where or what it was.

Everything was dark, not one light shined, not one window was open. I could barely see down the hallway.

At what I thought was the other end of the hall, were several lights. They looked like giant fireflies to me, but I knew they were lamps. They began walking towards me. I panicked.

_Just fireflies... _I told myself. I felt the little person inside me laugh. Does that mean I really was mad? I was hearing voices in my head now? Was I mad...?

_Fireflies... _The voice scoffed. I began shaking with fear. _You've lost it Alice..._

_I have not! _I shouted back. Yes. I was mad. It was official.

The fireflies were too close now, a few more steps and I'd be in sight.

"Please" I whispered. Who the hell was I talking to?

The fireflies began talking. The lights lit up their faces, I could see the outline of their faces, their hair, their eyes. One was a man, a man I could swear I'd seen before. His hair was longer though, shaggier. Everyone I'd met had short hair. He was quite tall, and the light seemed to play on his coat and his shirt, showing his muscles. The other person was shorter, and older. The light tilted up onto his face more than his body, and I saw his big, frizzy hair. I froze.

Mr Franco.

He turned to me like he heard me say his name, though I only thought it. The other man turned to me too, holding his light up further so I could see his face. No. No, no, no...

James?

**Dorian's POV**

Dallus was eight next week. So Florence was near enough right.

He didn't speak too much yet, which was ashame. From what I'd heard from his mouth so far, he was a very clever young man. I'd gave him some colors and paper the other day, like I had Alice. Hopefully he'd like it.

I walked into his room, knocking gently first so's not to scare him.

"Dallus?" I whispered.

Nobody replied, but I didn't expect a reply.

"It's just Dorian, Mr whitton."

I could barely see his face, his room was a lot darker here, in this section of the building. It wasn't too far from Alice, but because of his age and gender, he was a good walk away. Here, it was darker and much colder. The floors were filthy and it was like you could smell the place rotting. It always amazed me the change a few rooms could make.

I ran back outside at a vampire speed, and came back with a candle in my hand. Dallus wouldn't have noticed me gone.

He was lay in his bed, shivering, his hair lay wet around his face, soaking through the thin sheets behind him. All he wore was a shirt, much too big for him, and the trousers he'd come in with. They already had a small rip at the knee.

I walked over and placed the candle on a cardboard box next to his bed. It was fairly high, and I could see his face, not that I needed the candle to see him.

His eyes were watery, and seemed bluer than before. His face pale, and his lips were gray. I was silent, listening to his heartbeat, and his fast, heavy breathing.

"What happened, Dallus?"

He shook his head violently. I flinched away, pretending to be intimidated by him.

"Dallus..?"

"Help" He whispered.

"Help with what?" I asked, coming closer to him. "What's wrong, Dallus? Tell me what's wrong."

He shook his head again, but it didn't seem in denial. It was like he couldn't control himself. His hands began shaking harder, he gripped onto the bed and began crying.

"Dallus." I ordered.

"Stop them" He whispered.

I pressed my hand on his chest, trying to keep his shaking body still. "Stop who?" I said.

"Th-They're craw-crawling, D-Dorian. Stop th-them.."

"Where?" I asked. I was already looking around for any medicine he might have taken, any evidence that someone would have been here, or done something to him.

"They're crawling" He laughed. "Crawling up my arms...Down my legs..." He laughed again.

I got up and looked around, leaving the candle next to his bed. His room was plain, just a few sheets, some thicker than others that he had to lie on, a up-turned cardboard box next to it, using it for some kind of shelf, and two shirts and a pair of trousers sprawled on the floor by the door. Next to the door was a slice of bread, and half a glass of water. Both were untouched.

Something clattered to the floor, I turned quickly to see Dallus stood up, his eyes fixed to the cardboard box next to his bed.

"Shit!" He shouted.

I ignored his lanuage for such a young boy and focused my eyes were his were. The candle had fallen over, and set light to the cardboard box.

Without thinking, I grabbed Dallus and ran out. He thrashed in my arms, shouting, cussing at me. Where had a boy of seven learned such bad language?

Once he was outside, my attention went back to the fire. I couldn't exactly go and put it out, the whole box was on fire now, I couldn't pick it up and throw it outside into the rain. I'd burn myself...I could kill myself trying it.

"HELP!" Dallus shouted next to me.

I jumped at his voice, but several staff came from their current rooms to see what was so wrong.

"There's a fire." I said.

Three of them sighed, two others laughed, and one looked terrified. A women came running up with a wet cloth and ran into the room.

I felt myself freeze. If she got hurt doing this, it was going to be my fault.

But she didn't, she came out, the flame covered cardboard in her hand and ran across to the door that a young man was holding open. She threw it outside and the flames soon stopped, covered in the heavy rain.

I stood frozen for a while, seeing what a big deal I'd made from something so small. Something so small that wouldn't have killed me, may of seriously harmed me, but not killed me, and I got a mere human to sort it. Someone who could have lost their life so easily compared to _me. _

_"They've gone" _Dallus said.

I looked to him, he'd snapped me out of my guilt run which strangely annoyed me.

"The running men, they've gone." He said over and over.

I went up to him and looked him in the eyes. "Running men, Dallus? Who were the running men? Did they tell you to knock the candle over?"

I knew I'd jumped to some conclusions about him knocking the candle over, but I was pretty sure he had. I would never have placed the candle their if it had any chance of falling.

"Th-they told me to" His eyes were looking at the wall behind me, or maybe a person was stood their, his voice was far away, not his own. "They told me to throw it, they said they'd keep running, Dorian. They'd keep running."

I realized why he'd been sent here now.

"Dorian?" I ducked at the voice like I could hide.

Like a coward, I came back up and looked Mr wrill in the eyes. "Yes?"

"Isn't she yours?"

I looked down to see Alice. Mr wrill was holding her by the hair, but it didn't look like she was uncomfortable - at the moment. He probably wasn't pulling.

"Alice?"

"Yes. Alice." She snapped at me. "Would you let go of my hair!" She shouted up to Mr wrill.

Mr wrill laughed and gripped her hair more tightly, causing her to yelp in pain. I took a step towards him, intimidating him the best I could from a distance.

"She's quite feisty, isn't she?"

I hissed quietly. Dallus heard, and looked up to me.

"Why are you _here?" _I asked him.

He looked at me like a child, innocently. "It's my asylum." He shrugged. "I came to see you actually, to...talk about...re-refurbishments. I picked up your nuisance on the way, she seemed to be _enjoying _block two. Obviously she'll be punished for that. Why was her door open?"

"I was gone for a second or two Mr wrill, nothing more."

"Yes, well she still managed to escape. More to discuss about the refurbishments there. Anyway, I came to see you, and after picking up your pet, found you'd decided to set fire to young Dallus's room."

"He can stay where he is, the fire was small and-"

"He did it, didn't he?"

I shook my head but Dallus faltered. "The running men told me to..." He whispered.

"Chains." Was all Mr wrill said, and threw Alice towards me.

She fell to the floor and hit her head, her body went limp for a few seconds before she tried to get up. I walked over to her and picked her up, steadying her next to the wall, and walking back over to Dallus and Mr wrill.

"That's really not necessary, Mr wrill. He's been here days, it was an accident."

"It's all part of refurbishing, Dorian. Everything will come clear."

Then Dallus was taken away.

**REVIEW, PLEAAASE (: **


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm not one of these people who won't update until I get like, 50 reviews, but a about ten is REALLY nice. +I know it's sometimes annoying, because you just want to read the story, but PLEASE do it, thankyouuu (:**

**Also, whenever I do the story from Alice's POV, the asylum will seem a lot nicer...in places...than it really is. Alice is eleven here, and we all know how bouncy and excitable she is, and she's always going to try and look at the good things, the optimist she is. So, keep that in mind (:**

**Alice's POV**

Dorian was sat in my rocking chair, staring at the ceiling. He came here a lot now, and no matter how much I loved it, I knew it was doing me no good.

"I'm hungry." I moaned.

"I can't get you anything Alice, you know that." He said, not taking his eyes of the ceiling.

I sighed. I'd only had two slices of bread today, and a piece of fruit. I kept drinking, hoping it would fill me. Stupid asylum.

Someone knocked on the door and Dorian actually got up, and answered it. Stupid Dorian. Why could he pay attention to the door, and not me? _I'm spoilt._

"Florence?" I heard him say through the door, before opening it, and looking at her.

How did he know it was going to Florence?

"Alice needs to go out to the fields." She explained.

Dorian nodded and sighed.

"Alice?"

I was next to him in a second.

"You-"

"I heard." I said, and pushed past him into the corridor.

* * *

"Aren't you scared?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Should I be?"

He hesitated. "You've never been running here before, have you?"

"Nope."

I hadn't, Dorian had always got me out of it. I knew that the boys had to go out every week, but the girls only once every two weeks. I didn't know why, but thats the way it was. Dorian was quiet for a while, so I looked around. It was still quite dirty around here, but I knew other floors and other _buildings _were worse. I'd managed to get off Dorian that there were four blocks, each one for different things, and that I shouldn't go looking again. I still wanted to though. He was trying to hide something else from me now, I could tell. I knew something was happening, but he wouldn't tell me. I knew something big was happening and it all started last week when Mr wrill found me. I was still waiting for my punishment that Mr wrill had so nicely promised me. Stupid Mr Wrill.

"Here we are." Dorian said, snapping me out of my inner babble.

I looked around to see we were outside, the boys were lined up over the back again, and the girls were lined by the front. We walked together until I was in the line.

"I'll be here as soon as your done." He smiled to me.

He got up and began walking away. I suddenly got scared. The fear irritated me, but I couldn't stop my legs from running to Dorian.

"Dorian!" I shouted to him. He turned, surprised.

"What's wrong?" He asked, and walked the rest of the way up to me.

"Why should I be scared?" I asked, just wanting to hear more of his voice, he relaxed me.

I shut my eyes and waited for his reply.

"You shouldn't be." He laughed.

"I should. You asked me if I was scared. That mean's I should be, Dorian. Don't lie..."

He sighed. "It's just hard work Alice, I don't know how active you are. You have to keep going, or you get hurt."

I was glad he wasn't lying to me, but my heart was going too fast. The fear seemed to wrap around me in a big blanket and leave me paralyzed.

"There's nothing...big to worry about, Alice. Calm down."

"Come on!" A voice shouted from over the field.

Dorian shook me gently, I opened my eyes.

"You have to go." He said, looking over to where the voice had come from.

I nodded once and turned away, jogging towards the rest of the girls.

* * *

Dorian was right about it being hard work. The grounds were massive, and you had to run around them twenty times. Twenty times was the most they could make you do before it was dark, that's how big the grounds were.

I was only on my first lap, I could see the edge of the building, and where the teacher was stood to say it was our second lap though. That didn't make a difference though, my breathing was still heavy, and my heart was pounding hard in my chest. My stomach kept rumbling, reminding me how hungry I was - Very hungry, and my throat felt like I'd been eating sand.

I got to the teacher at last though. I was just about to go past when he looked down to his watch, and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back to him.

"Two hours, forty minutes?" He scoffed. I didn't say anything, my throat hurt too much already.

"Well?" He said.

"You have to go all the way over the fields at the back sir, stay with the gates. It's the fastest I could go." My voice was no more than a whisper.

He laughed. "Is that supposed to make a difference?"

I didn't say anything.

I saw his hand swing round and my body fe2ll to the floor. My cheek started stinging and my face was already wet with tears.

"Oh, For Goodness sake, don't cry. I'm amazed you fell to the floor, that was _light._ Get out there, girl. Hurry up, too, you have two hours max to get around the grounds."

I scrambled up and began to run again, shaking slightly. It was hot, early June, but my body shook like I was in a freezer. I couldn't run properly, I kept falling over, my legs felt like jelly. I wanted Dorian, and I wanted him to take me away. I wanted to go home, back to mother, back to Cynthia and my life. I wanted to have my bed, and my toys, and food, and love. Was it really that much to ask?

* * *

I was just reaching the teacher again, sprinting the last few feet. My legs hurt, my chest hurt, my lungs hurt, but I knew I had to keep going.

He smiled at me when I reached him. "Two hours..." I felt relief wash through me. "And thirty two mintues" He said, and his hand went across my face again.

My whole cheek stung again, but I was glad I hadn't fell to the floor.

"I've been told to keep you here." He said.

"But I've only ran two laps."

He nodded. "Yes, well people want you to only run ten laps at most anyway, so we need to be here first." He looked around as he spoke, as if expecting someone to appear and take me away.

_Dorian. _My mind whispered to me.

I stood there until my face stopped tingling, then another man came out from the corner of the building. I recognized his face, but that was about it.

His eyes were a dark blue, they always seemed full of happiness, and pleasure for what he was doing. He was paler than usual, and his hair seemed lighter, and longer. It was defiantly James.

"James" The man smiled.

"Hello." James waved and ran the rest of the way to us.

"Hello, Alice." He placed his hand on my arm, I flinched away, but he didn't seem to notice. "How are you today?"

I shrugged.

"Well, I'll leave you to it."

I looked up and the teacher was already walking away, James dragged me round the corner of the building so I wasn't in sight.

* * *

"What do you want?"

"What does Dorian want, Alice? What does anybody in this asylum want?" Was all he answered. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and tugged me closer to him, I tried to back away a bit, but it didn't work. His grip only got tighter and more uncomfortable. Stupid James.

He took me through block one, caustiously looking round.

"Dorian _will _find you." I threatened.

James chuckled. "Do you honestly think it's little Dorian I'm looking for? ... Do you know where Dorian _is _right now?"

I shook my head.

He laughed again and walked me outside, and through to block three. A boy, of about sixteen, was walking up the corridor, laughing. As he walked, blood dripped down from his body. He turned to us, laughing. He had a jagged knife in one hand, and blood was dripping was his arm, down his fingers, and onto the floor.

I closed my eyes tightly and tried to breath deep, even breaths. James pulled his arm around me and tucked me into his chest. I didn't bother moving away, I didn't care. I just kept my eyes tightly closed and pretended it was Dorian holding me.

* * *

I'd ended up fainting.

When I woke up, I was in my vest and some shorts, that I never knew I had. It was cold, a draft sweeping past my bare legs every few seconds. My body shook as I opened my eyes. James was holding me, smiling. I controlled the emotion on my face, _not bothered. _I thought. I had to look like he wasn't bothering me, when really, I wanted to hit him and scream at him and run away as fast as my legs would take me.

"You're tiny, aren't you?"

I shrugged, looking down to my stomach. I suppose I was quite thin, I was comfortable with my weight. Happy. Father said the only reason I was so slim was because I was tiny...

"Come on Alice, talk to me." He actually sounded hurt. It made me want to laugh...James? Hurt? No, they didn't add up. "I'm sorry for what happened last time...do you remember that?"

"Sort of" I muttered. "You almost killed me."

"I didn't mean to..."

"Right. Do you know how long I was asleep for? Do you know how much worry you put everyone through?"

"Worry?" James scoffed. "Right, and so Dorian worrying is loads isn't it? Florence worried...Florence almost got killed because of you." His voice turned to a whisper.

I looked up at him in horror. "I almost killed Florence?"

"Technically." He muttered."Hasn't your little friend told you?"

I shook my head.

"She gave up a lot of her job to care for you. Mr wrill punished her. Her head hit off something very sharp...and she was unconscious for a while...nasty accident, really..."

"I'm telling Dorain" I crossed my arms across my chest and looked straight ahead to the wall.

James laughed. "He already knows."

"And? I'm telling him whatever you're going to do to me, and I'll tell him everything you told me."

He laughed again. "Sure, sure...So, have you seen what I'm going to do to you?"

I shook my head. "Try..."

I tried..._I was in this room, but I was on my own...Tablets...Tablets flashed over and over again infront of my eyes...Room, alone...This room - Back with Dorian, back home..._

"Stop that!" I screamed at him.

He stared at me, bewildered. "Stop what?"

"Stop making me see home, making me see the other possibilities..." My voice turned to a whisper. "Think of something." I ordered.

He did so without meaning to. I saw him taking me into a room nextdoor... "Now change your mind" I said, after I'd snapped out of it.

He took me into the room...The vision changed...and I was in here again.

"Right, we best get you ready then." I was aware of him smiling at me, and picking me up, _and_ taking me over to the corner of the room...But my mind was fixed on every decision he made. The way everytime he changed his mind, I saw something different.

"Be good this time, okay? I _really _don't want to get angry again...like last time...No mater how much Mr wrill liked it, and found it funny, he still had a good word with me about it..." He carried on talking, I didn't listen.

"Here you go." He said, passing me several tablets in my hand again.

"What are these for?" I asked.

He laughed - how funny did he find this? "We love you Alice, we want you to get better, okay? So, do as I say, and take the tablets."

I sighed. I didn't want to argue, but I knew taking the tablets would do something to me. I didn't want to hurt Dorian, either.

James walked over to the other side of the room and opened the door.

"No." I said, just before he went out.

He turned back to me and sighed. "Alice, take the tablets..."

"No."

"For Goodness-"

"Darius?" He shouted down the hall.

I flinched away. Another man, taller and more muscular (somehow) than James came in to the room. He looked from James to me, confused first, then a big smile on his face. I wrapped myself into a tight ball and tucked my head into my knees. Like I thought, he picked me up, like I didn't think, he took me out...

* * *

His grip was tight around my waist, I kicked and screamed as he walked, but he didn't even seem to notice. In the end, I stopped. My stomach was hurting, my head was hurting. There was no point anymore.

"Finally" I heard him mutter.

"You are so dead." I growled.

He laughed. "Sure."

Stupid 'Darius'. Even I hadn't heard that name. Was it a real name?

We'd gone into block four. I'd never been here, and when I entered, I didn't want to.

The corridors weren't set up like block one, or block two. Or any of the other blocks for that matter. It was big, filthy rooms. The corridor's were about fifty steps worth, and the rest split into the rooms. The rooms led onto other rooms, and so on. I wondered how big it really was. The rooms were like over sized prison cells, each one was full with at least twenty people, and little more than ten staff. How did they cope? They were all too thin, their bones showing, each one barely clothed. I shuffled closer to Darius, and kicked my legs up so they couldn't reach me.

"Don't!" I heard a women call from the other side of the room. "I said don't!" She shouted again, her voice seeming to be in my ear now. "Please."

James started talking to her, but Darius stood still. "Turn" I moaned. He chuckled and stayed exactly where he was.

"Please, James. I know she isn't being good, but not here. Lock her in her room for a while, you know she won't do it again."

"What? So Dorian can get her? So he can come and knock the door off it's hinges and grab her. You know, he might even run off this time. Like he almost did a while back. _Almost. _She doesn't learn, you know that. You've _spoke _to me. You've spoke to _Mr wrill. _Darius, put her down."

Darius dropped me. I hit to the floor with a little thud, my back fell back, and I hit my head. "Ow." I moaned to him. He chuckled again. Stupid man. None of the others seemed to notice me. They all lay there, not talking to one another, each one seeming to be trapped in their own little world. Like they couldn't see, or couldn't understand what was going on.

"You know he won't." The women said, taking my eyes off the people around me. I turned and looked up to her. It was Florence. What was she doing here? Why didn't I recognize her voice...?

"He will." James muttered. "He's already looking, more of a reason for her to come here. She'll be fine. Look at them all, in their own little worlds. They need help...Why are you here anyway?"

"I work here. This is my second block, surprised you didn't know that, too."

James was silent for a while, looking around. I backed away, pretending I wasn't listening in case he saw me. But his eyes were fixed behind me. I looked, moving very slowly. It was three girls, probably about sixteen. They were the only group here, laughing and joking like everything was great, but they didn't seem to be together toghether. They weren't...talking to each other.

"I'll take those." Dorian snapped.

I flinched at his new tone of voice. I'd only heard it once, and at the time it wasn't nice.

"Take them where?" I said, without thinking.

_Shut up, Alice! _My mind screamed.

"Here, groups aren't allowed, talking isn't allowed, bad behavior is not accepted, and you will behave." James took several deep breaths before speaking again. "You will stay here until I come and fetch you. If you can kick up enough fuss for me, you can kick up enough fuss to stop your friend taking you. Friend's aren't allowed, either...If I come back, and find you gone..." He didn't finish his sentence.

I nodded and fell back, curling into a tight ball.

"Darius, take them." Darius stormed over and grabbed two of the girls, one by her arm, the other by the collar of her ripped shirt. James grabbed the other by her shoulder. They began screaming, like James and Darius had snapped them out of something. A different reality. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to forget the noise, forget everything. I just wanted to go to another world, another reality. Just like them. I never quite realized my wish would come true...

**Sorry it took a while, but hope you liked it (: Review pleaaaaaase.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry about it being late, it was my birthday Thursday and was out Friday and Saturday...So here you go anyway (:**

How long had it been now? A week? Longer? I didn't even know.

Florence moved around like everything was normal, and Dorian was nowhere to be seen.

My head was a mess, I seemed to be a different level to everyone in the room, they seemed to be on a different level to me. All I could think about was why Dorian hadn't come. I'd trusted him, I thought he would come. That's when I realised...

I was spoilt, I depended completley on him. My whole life was a shamble, I was in an asylum, and I barely understood what one was. I'd trusted someone who I'd known for a matter of weeks, I had a weird attatchment to him, and I shouldn't. Why? I didn't know. It was wrong.

I tried to focus my mind on mother, her face, her love for me. It only ended up hurting me more. I didn't care.

Florence had been in and out, I hadn't perticually paid attention. I wasn't going to. Every now and then, Dorian's face came back to me. The same thought came back, _I had to blank him out. Live like I should now. I was mad. A lunatic. I should be here, locked away, ashamed of what I'd become. _The only person who could have put me here was family, they kept me quiet. I clearly wasn't loved. I didn't see the point.

I also knew about my mood. I was upset, and for some reason, every bad thing that had ever happened was coming back to me, and never letting go. Right now, I was comfortable in this mood. It kept my mind off the people around me. Kept my mind off where I was, and why I was exactly here.

_Visions. _My mind permenently whispered to me though._ Stupid, worthless visions that put you here. _

A hand touched my shoulder, pulling lightly on my hair. I jumped up and backed away, my heart racing.

"Get off." I hissed at the boy.

"You know how to go." He said back. My mind wondered what was wrong with him, what had _he _done to end up here?

"How to go where? If you're on about outside, then no, I don't. So don't bother."

"You do though." He looked down, I noticed a tear in his eye.

"If I knew." I hissed again. "Then I'd tell you, wouldn't I? Or even better, I'd be out of here myself. And if I can know, why can't you? It can't exactly be hard, you find a door, you get out of it. You go where your mind says to go." My voice had got louder, and my breathing heavier.

A door opened over the otherside of the room, and a young girl peered out. Me and the boy looked away quickly, pretending we'd never spoke. She eyed us both suspiciously, but shut the door and left us be.

"Well done." He said.

I ignored him, my mind had just properly functioned for the first time in...in a long time.

_It can't exactly be hard, you find a door, you get out of it. You go where your mind says to go. _That was it. It really was that simple.

"You're a genius." I said, jumping up.

He stared at me in disbelief. I ignored him again.

My muscles ached, I hadn't walked in ages. You weren't allowed in here. I was just thankful the whole time that James hadn't come back like he'd said he would.

"Get up." I whispered. "Quietly."

"I told you you knew the way out."

I looked around as quickly as I could, there were three doors.

"That one." He said, I turned to him, he was pointing at the door closest to us. I never asked why, I never even read the sign on the door or looked behind me. I opened it, and ran out.

"Where the hell are we going?" The boy grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back from my run.

"Ugh." I sighed. "Right, how old are you? What's your name? Why are you here?"

"My name is Ethan, I'm seventeen, and I'm not sure. I have these...fits."

"Fits?"

"Yeah, now, where are we going?" He snapped.

I looked around, double checking even though his eyes had never stopped scanning.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. His clothes seemed fairly new, they weren't ripped and he _looked _smart. Smart for someone who was in that room.

"Is that really relevent? I just want to know where the hell we're going."

"Would you stop swearing, your giving me a bad example."

He laughed. "Like you care, I bet you've said it a few times in this shit hole."

"No. I haven't actually, now how long?"

"Two months."

"Great." I hissed, my voice heavy with sarcasm.

"What?"

"I've been here a month, you've been here two. Adds up to us knowing nowhere and nothing."

"Well, you're the genius who got us out here."

"You're the one that asked!"

We both sighed and I turned around. "Follow me." Was all I said, and began running.

I was running as fast as I could, and he still managed to be jogging next to me. I was up to his elbow roughly, probably smaller than that. He was massive, and muscular. Why was every boy here so...athletic.

"So, my question we come back to once again. Where the fu-"

"ETHAN!" I shouted at him.

He just laughed. "How old are you? Seven?"

"No." I snapped at him. "I'm eleven!"

"Right, so, where are we going again?"

"I don't know?" I said, stopping at a window. I pulled the heavy sheets away and looked out. I could see from here, the boys were running around, only the boys - i think. It could have only been a week.

"Where the hell is Dorian?" I mumbled.

"HA!" Ethan laughed. "Told you."

"Shut it." I hissed at him. "If you don't know anywhere we can go, what block we're in, or why we were there, then shut up. Oh, and also, feel free to speak if you can tell me why you're so 'fine'."

"Well, I'm fine because theres nothing the hell wrong with me."

"Is that all you know?"

"Yes."

"We're going to find a way to block one then. It's the safest place I know."

"Sure, the safest _you _know."

I ignored him and began running again.

We were outside. I couldn't breath properly, but _he _could. Older people were so annoying. I had to stop, get my breath back.

"I can carry you." He shrugged.

I focused on getting my breath back, my eyes never stopped moving.

"Shit..." Ethan cussed.

I looked up to him, showing him my annoyed face.

"You'd say it too! Look over there." I followed his eyes to see James and seven boys walking our way. My heart skipped a beat.

"Shoot."

He sort of laughed, but you could tell it wasn't real.

"How about the carrying idea?" I asked, my breath still coming short.

He didn't answer, just scooped me up, and began running.

He still didn't seem to be out of breath after carrying me. We were in another block, I wasnt' sure which yet, but he seemed to know where he was going now. My breath had come back, it should have. We'd been running ages. _He'd _been running ages. I tried to relax, but when I did, all the bad thoughts came back to me. I had to keep focusing on what we were doing.

"Right." Ethan said, I noticed the first signs of him being breathless as we crouched down in one of the corners. "We're in block one. Down the bottom though, ever been here?"

"No, my rooms at the top."

"Let's go to the top then." He got up again and began running.

"No." I said.

He didn't stop.

"Ethan!" I hit his chest and he finally stopped, the image of Dorian kept coming into my head. I couldn't go back up, I'd just start crying. Everything would come back.

"What?"

"Upstairs is not a good place to go."

"Well where do you expect me to go?"

"Out of here."

"Are you crazy?" He shouted at me.

I flinched slightly and he apolgised under his breath.

"We'll never get out of here alive. There isn't any point."

"We can try." I shrugged.

He sighed heavily and began jogging again, heading for the door we'd come into.

* * *

"This is madness." He sighed again, and crouched down, waiting for several boys to pass.

"I really don't care right now. I'm going to do anything to get out."

"You've been here a month, and you're ready to risk your life to get out?"

I shrugged. "I'm a personal favourite of a few people here, some of them...some of them I was stupid enough to trust."

"It couldn't be that bad."

"Little things are a lot sometimes." I felt my eyes welling up. "They've gone." I said, hinting him to go.

He stared at me for a while, but went. He ran all the way to the outer gate.

"This isn't the exit." He said. He could barely breath now, I felt bad for not telling him to put me down sooner.

"Put me down. You can't breath. And we'll just have to follow the gate round."

"No." He said, but put me down. "You don't understand. _We _can't get to the exit."

"What do you think you're doing?"

We both turned around, confused by the new voice. When I saw him my heart stopped. I actually felt it stop for a split second, and then race on like there was no tomorrow. Saying that, there probably wasn't going to be. Not for us now.

"James..." Ethan breathed.

"Are you trying to get out?" A smile played at his lips, like he was enjoyed scaring us half to death.

"No, sir." Ethan said, quietly.

You could hear the fear in his voice. James started walking towards us.

"And what did I say to _you?_" He looked at me, I refused to make eye contact and looked at the floor.

A few seconds later he spoke again. "Ethan, I never thought you'd pair up with such a weak partner to ful-fill your...needs."

"Don't be sick." He hissed. I was surprised, when I looked up, at how close they were. They were practically breathing each others air.

"I don't mean...Why did you even think that?" James chuckled.

"I wasn't. It's still sickening."

I began backing away, you could feel the tension. The atmosphere. It was terrifying.

"I'll be going soon you know. Tell some people for me?"

Ethan nodded. "Sure."

"For know though, you keep your filthly hands off my girl."

"That's the worst thing I['ve heard since I've been here. Seriously. I actually feel sick. She's eleven."

James' face went a darker shade, you could see the anger building inside him.

"Just leave her alone."

Ethan laughed. James hissed, his hand lifted and swung, and a loud _crack_ came from Ethan's face.

"You stupid-"

"What?" James laughed, and punched him in the gut.

"Stop it!" I shouted at him, but James didn't stop. He kept hitting and kicking until Ethan was on the floor, in tears.

James looked up to me, his face almost crazed. Shouldn't he be stuck in here?

Ethan jumped up and I fell back. It was happening too quickly. Why was Ethan fighting for me anyway! We didn't even know each other! What was peoples stupid attraction to me?

His hand swung up at hit James' jaw. I did fall this time. So did James.

"This has got out of hand, don't you think?" A familiar voice sounded.

**Not GREAT, hopefully it should satisfy you though (: Next chapter will be out soon, promise. Please review x**


	15. Chapter 15

I didn't turn to the all too familiar voice. I didn't even move. I just froze, pretending to be in shock. Hopefully, he wouldn't even notice me. That wouldn't be hard for him...

Ethan stood up, and stared for a few seconds. I couldn't see his face, but could imagine. I heard something crack but didn't turn, I'd seen Ethan's foot swing back and forth into James. That was enough.

"Stop it!" _He _commanded.

James got up, groaning as his broken bones moved. His hand flew up, and whacked into Ethan's ribs, another crack.

I turned around then, I had to. Ethan groaned and fell to the floor, dragging James down with him. His face was already swelling and going a horrible purple-y color. James kicked him in the gut again and you could see the air rush out of his lungs, another groan.

"Stop it, please."

They both fell to the side, and looked up to the sky. Either they'd had enough, or they actually listened to me. I let myself think they'd listened to me, it gave me a sense of...maturity. It felt good, just for those few seconds.

"Well done there, Alice." I still didn't look up, I stared, focusing on the rising and lowering of the two mens chests as they breathed heavily.

For some reason, my mind repelled the word Alice coming from Dorian's mouth. His name even stung me when I thought of it. Weird. I didn't know why. He'd betrayed my trust, I was pretty sure he hated me, and I didn't particularly want to see him. That surely wasn't enough reason...

He walked over to the two of them and stood between them. I watched, making sure he didn't make eye contact with me.

"Why?" He asked, as if in complete bewilderment.

"He needed teaching a few lessons." James muttered, barely breathing now.

Ethan scoffed. "Right, and you needed a death sentence but I didn't get to hand one of those out."

James flipped him self over like he hadn't got several broken ribs, and cuts and bruises all over him. He lay on top of Ethan for a second, stared him directly in the eye and punched him straight in the nose. I flinched back at the cry that escaped Ethan's lips, though after a minute, it didn't seem to bother him. His knee rose and turned sharply, yanking James' leg to the side and trapping it to the ground. It already looked un-comfortable, but Ethan made it worse. He flipped himself so he now lay above James, blood dripping from his nose onto James' face. I was amazed that through all their injuries - the broken ribs, possibly other broken bones, blood, cuts, _everything._ - They didn't even care. I couldn't help but watch as Ethan's body crushed down and snapped James' leg.

"ENOUGH." Dorian shouted.

I'd never heard his voice so loud, and _angry. _

Dorian reached down and pulled Ethan up by the collar of his shirt, James reached up and yanked on Ethan's leg. A loud crack noise erupted again. Ethan cried out, cussing like I'd never heard anybody cuss before. Where had he learned such language?

"JAMES!" Dorian shouted to him.

James let go, laughing.

"You're not going to be able to walk off now." Dorian sighed. He placed Ethan over his shoulder, trying not to put him on his ribs. It didn't look like it helped much though.

"James, get up."

"I can't you -"

"Get. Up."

"I've broken my leg."

"And? You can limp." Dorian's voice got more annoyed with every word, James cussed under his breath and began hobbling up.

"Alice, are you coming?" Dorian turned and I hid away, and shrugged.

I might come.

"Please?"

I sighed and began jogging behind them, for someone with a broken leg, James was going really fast.

Ethan seemed in the most pain though.

* * *

I'd followed them through building one, and down into the basement. I didn't really know we had a basement, or at least not one like this. It was surprisingly bright considering this was underground, and it was probably darker above than it was down here. There were several women on duty, each tending to at least three children each. I was amazed. Since when did this happen?

"What?" One snapped at us.

Dorian didn't seem affected. "Just place his knee-cap back, and we'll be gone."

"Why can't you do it?" Another asked, sounding more annoying than the women before, but she began walking over.

"Because I don't know how to, It's not my job, and you're the nurse here."

"Temporarily."

"Either way, this is your job."

James stood in the doorway, leaning on the cold bricks and panting. Probably from the pain.

"How did you manage that?" She asked, shocked as Dorian lay Ethan down on one of the tables.

I'd just noticed, but his knee cap was totally out of place, it had swollen up to the size of a tennis ball. It seemed to be to the side...

"Is it good?" James laughed from the doorway.

Dorian hissed. "Aren't you supposed to be in pain?"

"I am." He replied, quickly.

"Well, shut up then."

James growled slightly under his breath, but said nothing else.

"Okay, love, this is going to hurt a little." The women said, she seemed a lot nicer now.

Ethan just nodded.

"Can't he have a rag or something?"

"We don't have any." The women snapped from the corner.

Dorian sighed, and held his arm out to Ethan. "Don't bite too hard, for you're own good." He chuckled at some inside joke.

Ethan shook his head, but Dorian continued to hold his arm out right by his mouth, a sort of smile on his lips.

"Okay then, here we go."

Ethan did bite Dorian's arm. It _seemed _he bit it pretty hard to me, but Dorian didn't even flinch. Infact, he stared at Dorian like he was scared _he _might hurt _himself _by doing this.

"Done." The women said, at barely a whisper.

Ethan nodded, only slightly, she probably wouldn't have seen it.

"Did I hurt you?" Ethan asked Dorian.

Dorian shook his head. "Do you have _toothache?" _

Ethan shook his head.

_"That's okay then" _He smiled.

I shook my head slightly in disbelief.

"Glad that hurt, my boy" James laughed again from the corner. "Suppose I won that."

Ethan opened his mouth, but Dorian beat him to it. "I swear...God help me James, I will make your pain so much worse than it is now. _You _deserve it."

James shut up, everyone shut up.

Dorian was one again the one to break the silence. "Well, then, we best be off. James, weren't you on your way out anyway?"

"With a broken leg? I think I'm going to have to stay away." Another smile was playing at his lips.

Dorian took a big, long breath. "James, get out. Now."

James shrugged and limped out.

"What can we do for broken ribs?"

The woman looked over Ethan one last time. "Do you know how to set his nose? And you'll just have to wrap a few rags around him..."

"Yes, okay."

Dorian picked Ethan up, more comfortably this time in a cradle shape. "Try and relax." He smiled warmly at Ethan, and then me.

"Coming Alice?"

I shrugged, but followed as soon as he was out of sight.

* * *

We were in Ethan's room now, I hadn't really followed how we'd got here, but I wish I had now. I'd have to look at the room number of something.

"Are you ready?" Dorian asked.

Ethan shrugged.

"Is it going to be worse than the knee thing?"

"Umm, I don't really know." Dorian answered, seeming embaressed.

Ethan smiled the best he could. "Just get it over with."

Dorian nodded and walked over, I curled up tighter and sat in the corner, trying not to watch.

"Hold you breath, okay? And try not to shout or anything."

"I don't think it's that painful..."

"How do you know?"

"My brother did it. "

Dorian nodded, and placed his fingers on Ethan's nose.

I looked away then, but even from where I was, I could hear a small, sharp intake of breath and the audible crack noise of his nose going back into place.

"No..." Dorian muttered.

"That's blood-"

"Ethan."

"That's worse!" He corrected himself.

"I know, it's not doing it right..." He muttered to himself for a while, telling Ethan to keep holding on.

I walked over and looked for myself, Dorian had defiantly made it worse.

"Well," He said. "Just going to have to re-break it."

Ethan groaned, and I walked back to the corner.

Another, louder crack, another cry, another smaller crack, and a sharp intake of breath.

"I'll just wrap your ribs then." Dorian smiled.

Dorian did so and turned back to me, then back to Ethan.

"Rest." Was all he said, and rested Ethan in a more comfortable position before walking back to me.

"Coming?" He asked.

* * *

"No" Was what I'd meant to say. Or maybe a more polite, "No, thanks" But I hadn't, like usual I couldn't. It was Dorian, Dorian who'd asked me. Dorian who _wanted _me to be there. His voice. Him. Just him. Ugh.

Stupid, childish...

We hadn't spoke on the way to my room, we hadn't spoke when we'd got there. Now, Dorian was just sat there, perfectly straight, staring at the wall, like he was thinking about something. But his expression was wary...He was confusing me.

Then, something I didn't expect happened. He shot up, faster than anyone I'd ever seen anyone move. So fast, that I barely had time to think before his arms were wrapped around me tightly, and he'd pulled me back onto his lap so we both sat on the rocking chair. I felt his face in my hair, felt his cold breath on me. He was really cold. But it didn't bother me. For some reason it really didn't bother me.

"I'm so sorry, Alice..." He whispered.

I didn't say or do anything.

"James has gone now, did you know that? He's left. Gone for good. You're going to be fine, everything's going to be fine. I'm never going to let anybody, ever, hurt you again."

Then I pushed him away. I wouldn't let him lie to me again.

"Lies." I said. "Why do you keep lying to me? And you expect me to love you, to trust you, and you lie to me every single day, Dorian." I heard my voice getting louder, felt my eyes watering and my throat burning, but I continued. "You can't stop anybody hurting me, hurt is the whole damn point of this place, don't you see? YOU MUST! I'm in the this place because I'm not normal, am I right?" I didn't wait for an answer. "I'm not, and I can't be like everyone out there, and you...I trusted you, did you know that? I actually learned to trust you, and you've just thrown it back in my face..."

He let me say everything. I sat there, wondering how much I'd actually repeated and how much he'd taken in. All of it was the truth though, and that's all I was bothered about. My stomach hurt, my head hurt, my face was wet and sticky. And right now I'd do anything to get as far out of his arms as I could.

"I'm sorry, Alice."

"No, you're not..."

He shook his head. "I'll...give you time." And he walked out.

_STUPID. STUPID. STUPID. _I screamed at myself. I jumped up and kicked every wall in the room, kicked the chair, kicked the box full of my clothes, kicked the one table in the room, kicked my bed over and over and over. It didn't work, so I began punching everything.

There was a loud crack then. I fell back, my hand whacked off the floor and I screamed in pain. Broken, defiantly broken.

What was broken...?

I sat up on the bed, and looked at my hand. It was swelling on my last two knuckles. I sighed, it hurt really badly.

Dorian came running in then, he looked at me, sort of sheepishly and then to my hand.

"Are you okay...?"

I shook my head. "I think I broke it."

He ran back out the room and came back seconds later with a few rags. "Just another injury." He shrugged, but you could see how happy he was to be with me again.

I felt guilty.

"You have some explaining to do." I sighed again, this was just going to be downright awkward.

**Review again please guys (: x**


	16. Chapter 16

I sat there, feeling sorry for myself. My hand throbbed. Dorian had wrapped it up, and he kept telling me to let him put his hand on it.

I finally gave in.

He was right about his hand being cold. It was freezing. "Why are you that cold?"

I tried not to flinch too much, it was a relief.

He shrugged.

"Dorian."

"Don't worry."

"Please?"

He sighed. "I really can't tell you."

"But I want to know."

"You'll want to know everything."

We were quiet.

"I am sorry, you know." He said, a little too quietly.

"Are you scared?" I tried to make a joke from it, but my stupid voice broke.

"No..."

"Right." I laughed, a little too fakely.

I was going to mention how nobody had come for me again, but thought I best not. Not the time, and besides, Dorian really didn't like it last time. Could I tell him how I'd felt recently? Tell him how much he'd hurt me - again. Guilt trip? No. That would just make us both feel worse. Although I needed more of an explanation on this place, I must be mad, right? They wouldn't put me in here for no reason. Dallus turned out to be mad...Ethan has fits. I didn't know how bad the fit was though, I'd never seen it, and so I couldn't really judge. It must scare people though. I realised I hadn't had a vision in a while, I wondered why. Did I have to want to see something? Have to look for it to see it? I tried looking for Dorian, see what I'd get. But nothing came.

"Dorian." I said, my voice barely a whisper. "My vision's have gone."

"How do you know?" He sounded _pleased. _

"I can't see you."

"Look for...look for, umm, Ethan or Dallus."

I ignored his suggestions and looked for Mr wrill. I didn't really know him, but I'd met him. That had to be enough. I thought about his name, thought what he might do next.

_Walking...Walking...Down the corridor, towards hear. Men, lots and lots of men. by his sides. Guarding him? _

Out.

_In. Chains. Darkness. chains. Darkness._

For - Is that ALL I could see?

I shook myself, and instantly whimpered as my hand shook with me.

Dorian _tsked _and wrapped his hand around mine. I once again tried not to flinch.

"What did you see?" He asked.

I stared at him for a second. I never knew people knew when I was seeing things. How did they know? I knew mom saw it, and Cynthia. But that was because they were my family. They knew me...

"How did you -"

"You're face goes blank, Alice. It's like your looking, your watching something we can't see."

"Oh." Was all I said.

"Didn't you know?" I shook my head."So, what did you see?"

People knew? They knew when, and they could get it out of me like that? At a click of their fingers. I wondered for a minute if my face really did go blank like that, if I looked like I was staring at something that didn't exist. I couldn't imagine that. All I knew was me watching what I can see, not what anyone else could see. It sort of made me feel special. Until mom bought me home. She said I couldn't go to school anymore. She never said why. I was taught by father, not that that even helped. Every time I got one thing wrong he punished me. Severley. It ended pretty quickly.

"Alice?"

Dorian had to snap me out of it, didn't he?

"Umm, I saw darkness...darkness and...chains. And Mr wrill..."

"Why were you looking at Mr wrill?"

I shrugged. I didn't have a reason, so why should I make one up? Why lie?

"Well, you're in on it now then."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged this time.

Ugh. Shrugging was so annoying. "Can we make a deal?"

He looked at me suspiciously for a long minute, then noddded. "Go on then."

"We both get to ask five questions each. The other person has to answer them. No matter what."

"Not even if it meant they could die?"

"What do you mean?"

He shook his head and chuckled, as if enjoying a private joke again.

"Me first." I snapped, before he had a chance. He nodded and I continued. "What is this place?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the exact name, the exact thing, place, why were here."

"More than one question."

I sighed, annoyed. I'd have to waste a question. "What's it called."

Perhaps then, if I ever got out of here, I'd be able to find out what exactly this thing was.

"Well, it's pretty obvious" He smiled at me. "This is Biloxi Lunatic Asylum."

"Well that was a question wasted." I muttered. He laughed.

"Next?"

"Right, umm, why is James going?"

I was still too scared to mention anything I wanted to ask. I'd have to do it at some point though...Next question I thought.

"He's going _out _of here."

"Come on!" I moaned.

He laughed again. "I really don't know, he said he had better things to do than watch...umm, us."

I nodded, unsure of what to say to _that. _"Umm, the next question's going to be tricky for me." I whispered.

He watched, waiting for me to speak. It took a long three minutes. "Why do I feel...funny. Why do I suddenly feel like everything in my life is bad, and that I must be mad, otherwise I wouldn't be here. Everything that's bad keeps seeming to pile down on me."

"It's probably just this place, it wears down on you. Don't let it get you Alice, you're a bright little light." He smiled to me, but I didn't return my smile.

I was concerned I only had two questions left. I was terrified to ask it. I was terrified to ask the last two questions I was dying to know...

"You can have your go now." I gave him a quick, fake smile."I'll finish after."

"Okay, umm...Why are you in a mood with me?"

I tried not to shrug. I really wanted to right now..."You broke your promise. You said I could trust you."

He nodded, not seeming to be bothered that I hadn't really answered his question fully. That was kind of annoying.

"Who's your favourite person here?"

I laughed slightly. "you."

"Well, that was sort of obvious."

"Yeah." I noddded.

"Umm, Why do you hate your father so much?"

Okay, either he wasn't taking this seriously, and asking the first thing that came to him, or his brain worked really, really fast.

"Do you want the whole story...?" He nodded. "Okay, so...He was fine with me when I was much younger, I first saw something when I was about six I had my first vision. I was on my own, and I didn't tell anyone. It didn't happen again for a while, I'd forgot about it. But then, as it had to, it came back. A year later. My seventh birthday. Obviously I was centre of attention that day...my dad hit me out of it. Didn't take much, no bruises, not even a mark. I was fine. Mom kept asking what it was, and when they kept coming, I told her. She was worried about me..." I sighed, remember everything. "She protected me for years, not that it really worked. It didn't take much for dad to get his hands on me. And that of course was why I hated him. At the time, I didn't have control. They came without me looking, and so whenever I had one, dad hit me. If mom said no, he'd hit her. He almost killed her the once, I was ten. Not long ago really. I knew he almost killed her..."

"Do you know who sent you here?" He whispered to me.

I shook my head and he sighed. "Do you want to know?"

"Yes..."

He took in a deep breath, and was silent for a while. Like he was thinking very deeply about something, or concentrating. "Your mom sent you, Alice. She wanted to protect you."

I didn't have time to be angry at her. I knew what father was like, Father would hurt her. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

I could tell by his face he didn't want to speak. "Umm..."

"Dorian, tell me." My eyes had watered up and already tears were running down my face. I felt myself shaking. Dorian picked me up and wrapped me in his arms. I couldn't be bothered to push him away, or say no. Or even do anything at all.

"She's...umm, she's gone some better."

A loud, ear-splitting noise reached my ears. It took me a good while to realise it was coming from my mouth, and to stop it. My face was soaked, and so was Dorian's top now he held me to his chest.

"I'm sorry, Alice."

I shook my head, trying to get even the tiniest grip on myself.

"Where's Cynthia?" I managed to blub out. He didn't even laugh at my stupid voice. I suppose that would be inappropriate...

"She's being cared for, I made sure."

"Father did it, didn't he?"

Dorian didn't answer. That was a yes.

"I don't think we should continue with this Alice."

I nodded, still crying my eyes out.

"One more thing..."

He nodded.

"What are you?"

He seemed shocked, slightly taken back.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Well, I can see every human in this asylum...sort of. Even the people I barely know. But you, the person I know the best in this whole place...you I can't see. That surely means your something different. Another thing is your skin, no human's skin is that cold. And yet another thing..."

I was sure about this one, I thought I really must be mad. But Dorian had said himself I wasn't, so I couldn't be. I must be seeing this for real. Or feeling it would be better words. He just stared at me, waiting for me to continue. Perfect, he was completley still.

I lifted my good arm and pressed my hand on his heart. Or at least, where his heart should be. He suddenly looked very serious, and pulled my arm away.

"No, Alice."

"Proof. Why? You're not human."

I'd kept that in for way too long.

"Alice, can this wait? I promise you Alice, I _will _tell you. When you're just a little older, I will tell you. I promise you with my li-existence, Alice."

I didn't have to think about it really. "You really promise?" He nodded. "Okay, I'm finished" I tried to smile, but it didn't really work. Why did I bother?

I curled up in his arms, trying to sleep. That would take everything away. I'd ride away on a big, poofy cloud, leaving all my worries on the floor below me. And I'd fly and fly and keep flying until I was as high as I could go. Until I was in the stars...Perhaps even higher. That sounded good to me. I didn't try and move away from Dorian, he held me and calmed me. I'd probably be breaking the rest of my bones by now if he wasn't here.

I held my bad arm to my chest and relaxed - the best I could - into Dorian's cold chest, I shut my eyes and floated away on that big, poofy cloud.

**REVIEW PLEAASE GUYS (: x**


	17. Chapter 17

**Like I said, slightly skipping. This is a two years later...Alice's birthday (: So it's May, okay? And she's going to be thirteen :D Don't worry about missing things, just use your imagination and explain everything else (: - Thank's for reviews.**

"So Ethan's gone home?" I moaned. Me and Ethan had been mates since the day of the fight. That seemed ages ago now. I'd helped reset his nose - for the fifth time. That was sort of funny. He really should be more careful. I'm amazed his nose even lasted.

Dorian shook his head. My life long friend. Okay, maybe not that long, but still. We had our off's ... a lot. But we were friends. Good, good friends.

"He hasn't even left the grounds. He's being asessed."

I nodded. "'Cause that's totally the same to what you said..." I muttered.

He chuckled. "You've got a cheek for such a tiny thing."

"Thing? Thanks(!)"

He laughed again, I didn't really see what was so funny.

"So, when will he be back?"

"Why are you so obsessed? He's too old for you."

I laughed sarcastically. "Yes, because I want to marry him. I should be worrying."

We reached my new room, yes _new. _It wasn't much different. Slightly bigger, it was temperary. Every girl on my row had been moved out, and taken down to temperary rooms. It was all part of Mr wrill's new plan. The plan he'd been working on two year's now, and only just put into action. It must be a pretty big plan. I never mentioned it to Dorian, he didn't like it. He said this was big, and very, very bad. It couldn't be that bad. He kept saying I should 'cherish everytime I get outside now'. WHY? Ugh. I wish he'd just speak to me sometimes...he could be really secretive.

"In you go."

I walked in and collapsed down on my bed. Dorian took me out every day. Obviously not out out. Not outside the grounds. That was my death in a few words. We walked around the grounds. It got quite repetitive. More than anything, I wanted to be outside. Really outside. But of course, I hadn't been outside for years. All I wanted was to be with my family. I wouldn't tell Dorian though, how could I? It would really upset, I wouldn't even tell him when I was the most annoyed with him. Weird how much I don't want to hurt him.

"How's your hand?"

I looked down, this was the second time I'd broke it. Stupid hand. I'd only fell. I mean, _fell. _Jeesh.

Dorian chuckled like he'd heard something, or remembered an inside joke. I didn't usually pressure him into telling me, I didn't get an answer. But recently, it was getting more frequent. Annoyingly.

"What?"

He looked at me innocently, "What?"

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing."

How did I know that was coming? "Oh well." I said, a smile playing at my lips, I tried not to let it go. I'd give it away. "You're going to have to tell me soon, whether you like it or not."

He sighed. "You still remember that?"

I nodded.

"You have one amazing memory."

I nodded again, trying not to laugh from the new buzz that had grabbed me.

I lay down on the bed and tried to focus on Dorian, his face, who he was. It was hard. See, when I was outside it was okay. Everything was okay. I could pretend, use my imagination, pretend I was in a park. A big, open park and there were people around me, families; normal, happy people. It wasn't too difficult, but if I failed, there was an alternative. I'd watch Dorian, try and suss him out sometimes, sometimes just stare at how handsome it was. That defiantly wasn't diffult to loose yourself there. But now I was confined. Stuck in this tiny little room, it was so...claustrophobic. I hated every minute of it. Everything I didn't want to would come running back to me, all the memories, the images the feelings. I'd become sad again.

"What are _you _thinking about?" He asked.

I looked up, trying to knock myself out of it by looking at Dorian, his face. Even he didn't help here.

"Umm...nothing."

"Come on..."

"You won't tell me about you."

Dorian looked confused for a moment, I wondered if it was something I'd done, but it wasn't. He got up and opened the door. I hadn't heard a knock, but Ethan was there with Dallus.

"Hello." He smiled at us, and invited himself in.

This was something for a few hours maybe, if I was lucky. Ethan kept me occupied, and he too was very handsome. Not matching Dorian in ways, but beating him in others. Dorian saw the way I'd looked at him and laughed. I didn't like him _that _way...I don't think. I also don't see how people _couldn't _like that...

I reaced up and scruffed up his hair like I usually did, he laughed, but you could hear the annoyance. It did annoy him, it was funny though. His hair was just above his shoulders, quite long, and dark, matching his deep brown eyes and olive toned skin. **(Picture on profile)**

"How are you?" He asked, directly to me.

"I'm...good, you?"

He shrugged.

"Why Dallus?" Dorian butted in. Somehow, in his voice, the way he said, it didn't sound in the slightest bit offending. Dallus seemed in a different world anyway, his mother had died last week. I felt bad for him, but he didn't seem to notice. He held no grudge against who killed her, or he belived the lie. 'We were only trying to help her...the devil killed her...satan this, satan that...' Ugh.

"Oh, he was wondering around when I was coming up. I didn't want him to get into trouble, so I brought him up here for a bit. No-one'll notice I don't think. Since his mothers death no-one really looks up on him except you, I fed him on the way. He said he was hungry, hadn't eaten in days."

"Seriously?" Dorian asked, was that anger in his voice?

"Yeah, but I fed him. He should be fine."

He nodded and pulled Dallus onto his lap, beginning to talk to him. It didn't really work though, he was on a different level to us. I wondered if that's what I'd turn out like soon, I'd managed to get this far, hadn't I? I could do it, right?

"So..."

Ethan laughed. "Our conversation's are getting too awkward."

"Um-hm."

"How old are you again?"

"Thirteen."

"Happy birthday."

"Thank you."

He lent down and kissed my cheek. Oh, God. My cheeks are _burning. _

"Contain yourself." Dorian muttered.

"No, Dorian, I'm nineteen. She's just gone thirteen. That would not be right." He looked down to me. "Sorry, Alice." And kissed my other cheek.

Great.

* * *

We'd been talking for hours. Dorian had finally managed to get a few words, few sentences out of Dallus. He seemed pleased with himself.

Me and Ethan were lay on the bed, next to each other. I saw Dorian keep looking over. It made me want to laugh. What exactly was he expecting us to do? I was thirteen! Utter jealousy...

"I've gotta go..." Ethan finally said.

Dorian nodded. "Yes, put Dallus to sleep on your way back. Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Where else would I be?"

"Good point. Can you make sure he gets something proper to eat and drink please? You know the, umm, changes. Don't you?"

"Yep."

"See you tommorow." I said to then, and they walked out the door.

* * *

"What's wrong with you and your jealousy level?" I asked suddenly. I hoped to get him off guard, but it didn't appear to work.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me Dorian, I saw you, every single five minutes you looked at us. What exactly were you waiting for? What were you expecting to happen?"

"Ethan is as close to you as I am. It's weird seeing that attachment."

"How is it weird? I seem to have a ridiculous pull to everyone."

"No, this _is _different."

I was quiet for a while thinking. What was so different? Ugh. Why couldn't he answer a straight question! This lead me to Ethan himself of course, how had Ethan managed to go year after year without going...mad? I'd have to ask that.

"Dorian, why isn't Ethan...mad?"

"I looked after him, he hasn't really been here long, and sadistic people don't really have an attachment to him. He went through the usual, you go through the extreme. Just...luck as well I suppose."

"So I could stop going mad? Stop becoming a lunatic?"

He shrugged. "Alice..."

"Yes?"

"You know that promise?" I nodded. "I think I'm going to have to tell you. Tell you know, why you still believe me. While I still have the guts and while I can..."

I didn't think about the way he said his words, like there was only so much time left. That didn't bother me right now, I could think about that after. Easy. Right now I needed to nod, and be ready for whatever stupid reason he threw at me to explain every bizare thing he'd ever done.

"Go on..." I promted.

He took several deep breaths, a long minute passed. Then his lips finally parted, and he spoke. "Do you know myths, ledgends? Silly stories, nightmares? Anything like that?"

I shook my head. "Not really."

"Tell me what you do know."

I didn't see how myths and ledgends was getting to whatever he was... "Umm, my father used to tutor me about history and stuff. And, umm, he mentioned things about Werewolves." He flinched. "And, umm, witches and vampires...and how they used to hunt them."

I saw his reaction on the word vampire, saw the way his eyes tightened slightly and his body tensed. The way he figetted, and it looked like he wasn't breathing anymore...

"Vampire? I said it?" He didn't reply. "Dorian, don't try and con me. They're just myths and ledgends, nothing more."

He laughed quietly, his body relaxing. "Knew you'd say that."

"Say what?"

"_Myths and Ledgends." _

Ugh. "I can't help being predictable...

"Well, I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"What? You never told me!"

He laughe again. "You guessed."

* * *

Stupid Dorian, stupid un-human possibly vampire thing. He _couldn't _be. They were myths. Everything was...UGH.

I thought about it, perhaps I needed to let my imagination work. Actually believe him. Maybe he didn't want me to believe, maybe he was betting on that. But why? What was the point? Did he want me to think I was mad? Think and think and think about the possibility of him being a vampire until it drove me insane? That's the only thing I could think of.

I sighed and tried to think about other things, but the only other thing that came into my head was Dorian's other words. He said them like I only had so long left, like he had to tell me now while he still could. Before something happened...Before I went mad? Before he had to leave? Or I had to leave? Or one of us got killed?

I had to sleep again. It was the only thing I could do, take all my problems away. They probably wouldn't work though, I'd probably just have nightmares...

It was worth a try. I lay back down and pulled the one thin sheet on top of me, the..._thing _was hard. It hurt my back, and my kneck. But of course, I had to ignore that. If I payed that much attention to it, I'd never sleep.

I shut my eyes. They instantly flew back open. I needed Dorian. I needed him now. Why did I even think I could sleep now? With the images, the words. The people. Everytime my eyes shut I saw Mr Franco, or worse, James. I'd see the tortue each person here had put me through, I'd see all the tablets they'd forced me to take. I'd see Ethan on the floor, blood all over him. Those were the real images, I could half cope with those. My imagination was the worst, the things I didn't know, the holes in my mind. In the images, is where my imagination would fill. _Dorian on the floor, Dorian dead. Ethan dead, Ethan covered in blood, his body cold and limp in my arms. My mother, lay on the floor in the house. _This one changed. Changed from room to room, my mind couldn't find out where or when. So that changed, too. _My room, her room, Cynthia's room? The front room, the kitchen? Outside? Cynthia finding her, broken, pale and cold. Father's face, him laughing. Him crying. _Once again, I couldn't decide.

Then footsteps began. I wondered if I was having a vision, but it sounded too clear. This was real, and they were coming towards me.

**Review please, and sorry I took so long (: x**


	18. Chapter 18

**Next chapter peoples' :D +Could someone tell me if the link works on my profile? Thanks (:**

I shot up in my bed, a loud ringing noise in my ears. I quickly fell back down again, my head banging and my body feeling heavy and sore.

"Alice?" Someone shouted, before I could even open my eyes again I was in their arms. Cold, hard arms. Dorian.

"Where am I?"

"You're room, are you okay? What happened?"

I thought back. Was that Mr franco? I could barely remember anymore, it all seemed like a big mess.

"Umm, I think Mr Franco took me somewhere, and, umm, he took me somewhere...cold? I can't remember."

I could swear I heard Dorian growl, really growl. Like a wild animal. I fought the urge to move away, back off, but I didn't. Dorian wouldn't hurt me...I don't think.

"You need to go now."

"Go where?" I asked, confused.

"Downstairs." Was all he said, and he was leading me out.

"I'm not dressed properly." I moaned on the way.

Dorian shrugged his shoulders. "You're getting something else to wear anyway."

We stopped near Dallus' room, Dorian looked around and then led me down another corridor I didn't know existed. We walked and walked until he finally took me into a big, dark room.

"This is your...job. You said you knew how to sow, didn't you?"

I nodded. He sighed in relief.

"I can't stay, I'm not even supposed to be here. If you feel...ill just..." He didn't finish. "I'll see you tonight."

And he was gone.

I walked, trying not to fall in the dark room. My arm's were outstretched, feeling for anything or anyone. Okay, it wasn't _that _dark. But it was quite gloomy, and everything was unclear.

"What _are _you doing?" A voice asked.

I turned quickly, feeling my cheeks burning slightly.

"I've been having to do this all day..." She muttered, walking up to me and grabbing my arm. She began pulling me futher down the room as she talked. "You know what your doing, right?"

"Umm, sowing?"

She sighed. "Just workin'. Sowing's only part of it."

I nodded again, whether she saw it or not.

"You'll be workin' 'ere." I looked, it was just like the rest of the room but a ragged cloth covered the floor with fabric next to it, folded and needles. "You'll always have someone watchin' you. So don't get trying nothin' funny, right? Those needles 'ent too sharp anyway...I'll collect you after, you'll have to do this yourself tomorrow."

I nodded again, not really knowing what to say, and she left.

I sat down and picked up the needle. Tested it on my finger. _It was sharp. Ow. _

_"OI!" _Someone shouted behind me. I jumped and the needle dug in futher to my finger.

"Ow."

"Your own fault. Again and you'll be out!"

I never replied, if I opened my mouth I'd probably say something I'd regret.

* * *

How much longer did I have to do this? Hours more? And I hadn't been given knew clothing like Dorian had said. Was I making it? It didn't look very comfortable. I didn't even know what I was making. I just followed the marked lines.

I couldn't see the person behind me, it sort of bugged me. They were hidden in the dark, but could clearly see me.

I wanted Dorian.

* * *

**Ethan's POV**

"I just want you to...understand my concern, Ethan." Dorian said - again. He droned on, I barely listened. It was beginning to annoy me.

"Alright, I understand, Dorian."

He was going on about me and Alice. Like he thought something was going to actually happen. We were in an asylum for one, she was thirteen for another. I suppose the main one was the asylum, but I wouldn't mention it. We _were _in hell. Hell itself, or so I thought. Dorian said everything was just about to get worse. Much worse. I didn't see how it could. She was 'working' today. Mr wrill believed this was good for them, their work. It would help their minds and their development, and if they were ever cured, would help them in the real world. If they were still alive that is.

"You don't."

"I do."

"Ethan."

I sighed. Stupid mind reading qualities.

"Actually...I can't. It's just whatever's strongest at the time. I may hear your thoughts, or your emotions, or...other things." He chuckled, feeling how much he'd annoyed me. Again.

"Does Alice know yet?"

"She guessed I was a vampire from her fathers stories, although I don't think she believes it yet..."

I laughed. "Isn't that good?"

He shrugged.

It was only luck I knew. The amount Dorian tried to protect me...it was inevitable. He said he'd met someone like me, someone who was ill, who had these...fits. They were okay. It was curable, but it was controllable, and I wasn't a harm. Convincing Mr wrill this of course...turned out impossible.

"What was that?" Dorian shouted.

I jumped up and listend.

"Screaming." We both said at the same time, and ran to the window.

A women...who was it? I didn't care, I didn't have a chance to look. She was falling, and she was falling quick.

"What the..."

"No!" Dorian shouted.

I jumped at his tone, it sounded so...hurt, scared...angry?

Then he was gone.

I couldn't take my eyes from the window though. The women was still falling. I saw her red hair falling behind her back. Her arms held out like she was flying. Then she hit the bottom. I flinched, but didn't look away. I knew this would haunt me, probably for the rest of my life, but I couldn't look away. I couldn't stop watching as her body went limp, and sprawled on the floor in a weird shape. Blood began building around her, from her head, her kneck...Then Dorian appeared. That took him a long time...

Then I realised it had been seconds. Probably less. He'd got there as fast as he possibly could, but she was dead. Whoever she was. I didn't bother going down, I didn't need a first hand sight of the women, something more to stick in my head. It would take me ages anyway, probably around twenty minutes to get there. Maybe ten if I ran the whole way. If I really sprinted. So I waited for Dorian to come back, I sat there for hours waiting. I watched the men take the women away, not even caring. Just flinging her body onto a big white sheet..._white. _And carrying her off.

Dorian stoof there for a while, then he came back.

"Who was that?" I whispered.

It took him a long time to answer. But he shook himself, and looked to me. The pain and anger seemed to have dissapeared but I could see it there, deep in his eyes. It was still somewhere. He just had to hide it.

"Florence...She was going through...a lot."

Florence? "I know. She was pregnant, wasn't she?"

Dorian took a deep breath, "Yes. Whoever...did that is..."

"Don't." I said and walked over to him, holding my hand out. I patted his back instead and tried to make him walk.

"Shall I go and collect Alice then? Or is she just going to find us before someone finds _her?_"

"How did you know...?"

"You'r hiding. I know."

It was the only possibilty. Dorian wouldn't bother infront of me, that was clear from his first reaction to her falling. It was only when he came back that he started hiding himself.

"That obvious?"

"To me." I shrugged and we began walking.

I felt funny the whole way there. We weren't far, hopefully Alice wouldn't have seen. It felt like my body was sort of...detatched. The way Dorian looked to me showed me he felt that way too, but he didn't seem as bad anymore.

"Why aren't you bothered anymore?" I finally snapped at him.

"Because I watched every single person in my family die, Ethan." He stopped. Stood completley still, and stared directly at me. "I watched my wife die, my mother, my father, my _daughter. _And I watched my son become an evil, twisted young man. It wears off on you."

"Who?" My mouth asked. My brain had no control.

"Lainey, she was only three. I was only 21. She was..."

"I don't want to know how they were killed." I corrected.

He just shrugged. "Her throat was cut. She died quickly. I saved my son...he was lucky to even live. See, he hid, in the attic. The vampires found him of course...but for some reason they left him, and changed me. I changed him, Ethan. A newborn, it's not even heard of. It isn't even possible!" He said through his teeth. I could hear the anger. It looked as if he was going to explode. "But Alec went, Jane did too, they both...they both decided I wasn't worth it. They didn't like my way of life, the way I chose since I tasted their blood..."

He stopped, like someone had suddenly cut him off. Like he _couldn't _speak. I didn't question.

We carried on walking, walked round the corner...

"Alice!"

He saw her before I did, he seemed, once again, to have gotten over his little story. Or he was just hiding it very well. I didn't really look. I looked for Alice instead.

She was stood by the window, staring. Dorian had her in his arms, and away from the window before my mind could properly register her, or what she might have seen.

"Who was that?" She asked, bewildered.

**Alice's POV**

"Who was that?" I asked, bewildered.

I'd seen it. A young female falling from high above us. Red hair flying behind her back. Then she fell down. Blood covered her, and the men took her away. I saw everything.

Wait. Red hair. I'd never seen hair like that, so perfect and vivid in color. So beautiful. It was still a guess, but I said it anyway. "Florence?"

Dorian nodded tightly.

Nobody said anything else, we were just silent as he carried me back to my room, my real room.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

Dorian said nothing again, he wasn't himself.

He took me in and set me down. I didn't move, I could barely see. It was nightime. He dragged me. Yanking on my wrist. _Defiantly not Dorian. _

I felt the cold floor touch my bare skin, my back, my arms, my legs. Then something cold clicked around my wrist. I tugged, and felt the something restrict me. I couldn't move my hands more than twelve inches apart at most. I tugged them together, and I once again it tugged back. I could reach my bed, and that was it. It wasn't even a bed anymore. Just blankets.

"Dorian?" I felt the tears clouding my throat, felt my eyes water up.

"Your condition is deterierating and your about to under-go some serious treatment. They don't like to keep people here a lengthy amount of time. Do as your told and keep your mouth shut. Any bad behaviour will result in a harsh punishment. I'm not allowed to see you for the next forty-eight hours. Nobody is, you will be left with only a glass of water. Goodbye, Alice."

And I heard him walk away.

**Ethan's POV.**

Well, he'd kept that quiet.


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, I don't know about you, but that last chapter was pretty short...so heres another one (:**

**Ethan's POV.**

"Why did you do that?" I shouted the minute we were outside.

Dorian didn't speak.

"You've hurt her Dorian, she'll never trust you again."

"She doesn't anyway, don't you have to go back to your room? You're going to get caught, or I'll have to report you."

"What the hell's got into you?" I tried to keep a polite-ish tone. It failed.

"Nothing has got into me Ethan, I'm fed up of acting. She's going to get hurt. Really hurt, soon. And I cannot do one thing to stop it! NOT ONE, TINY THING."

"What's going to happen, Dorian?"

He was quiet for a minute. It sounded like he was trying to control his breathing.

"You don't want to know." He laughed, but not a happy laugh. It was crazed. Could vampires lose their minds?

"Yeah, well I _do _need to get back. If you want to tell me, come and get me. If you want Alice to ever love you again, go and collect her now."

And I walked away.

**Dorian's POV.**

Did he honestly think I _wanted _to do that? That I wanted to leave her there, chained in thick manacles, tied to the wall, barely able to move. The furthest she could go was to her bed, if that was a bed. _I_ wouldn't exactly put it under that catagory.

Right now all I wanted to do was go back, run as fast as I could. It would take me seconds. But I couldn't. Instead I ran out. I couldn't go far, it wasn't worth it and I wasn't in the mood. I ran to the very edge, ran to the entrance, and sat in the corner. In the dark.

It should have been furth enough to get rid of her scent. But it was on me, it was everywhere. It was all I could smell. Her name was all I could hear, all I could think of.

I hit the fence around me, kicked the floor. Neither helped me, just left holes and dents and mud flying everywhere. I kicked the floor again and again until I actually realised how deep the hole was. Ugh.

* * *

**Alice's POV.**

My face was sticky from the wetness. I'd stopped crying _now. _I couldn't cry anymore. This just summed up every single one of my doubts. All the questions and worrys in my head. This made it final. Dorian clearly didn't want me, he didn't like me, he didn't love me. Him protecting me was just an act, every little thing was an act. He was probably human, a liar. Was Ethan an act too? The way he pretended to like me. I was going to die, either from the torture, or I was going to starve to death, or de-hyddrate, or perhaps Dorian would just make it quick for me. I didn't care right now. Somehow, my life just seemed meaningless all of a sudden. I didn't have my family, I didn't have friends. I didn't have Dorian. Nobody cared, I was alone. I was destined to live here for the rest of my life - If I survived. I'd probably die. Hopefully soon. If I stayed here, I knew everyday would be worse. It would be my own hell. It was my own hell now, how could it get much worse in the next few years? I laughed at myself. I probably wouldn't be alive in the next few years, what was the point in planning ahead?

So I sat there, trying my hardest not to let my mind wander onto the things I didn't want it to. Like Dorian, or mother. Even father. I focused on the screams, the shouting, the crying from all the way down my hall. There wasn't much of it, but when you heard it, you heard it loud, and for a long time until they were cut off abruptly, probably by them being hit or gagged.

After listening for a while, you could tell the difference. They screamed...when they were hit, there was just a stop. Maybe a little, quiet yelp of pain, but nothing more. If they were gagged you could hear them choke for a few seconds. It took away my pain...some of it.

Then all the screams stopped, I had nothing else to do. My mind wandered straight to Dorian. His face appeared in my head, and I heard his last, angry, words to me. I couldn't get them out of my mind then. They stuck there. Then an image of Ethan. Laughing. James. Laughing. My father. Laughing. _My Mother. Laughing. _They wouldn't go now. They stuck there.

I felt the tears wet my face again. It felt funny having them there, they tickled. But I didn't laugh. They annoyed me, but I didn't try and wipe them away. I felt the cold now, it must have been past midnight already. It had to be. I wanted to go now. Wasn't this enough?

I felt myself shaking, and it only got worse.

After another good hour, probably more my body was froze. I couldn't feel my toes, or my hands. I was amazed how I slept at night when it was this cold. How anybody slept.

My teeth were chattering so hard I couldn't drink the water next to me. So I left it, and tried my hardest to change my mind. Take it off of everything. Like that would work. So I shut my eyes, whether it worked or not. I was betting on it not working...but it did.

**Dorian's POV.**

Could I go to her now? It had been forty-seven hours and fifty nine minutes and twenty two seconds. I didn't care actually anymore.

So I ran, ran faster than I'd ever felt myself run before and ended up outside her room within a matter of seconds.

I knew she wouldn't want to see me. She'd hate me. I could hope though. Anybody could hope.

So I opened the door to the dim lighting, and looked directly at her. She was pale white, her breathing shallow. I ran to her and touched her skin, even to me it seemed cold. Ice.

"Alice?" I whispered. For some reason, I had the urge to check her heart was beating. Even though I could hear it, I had to check. Like I didn't trust my ears. My hand reached out and touched her wrist, she shook and her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry..." I whispered.

Her eyes were wide open then, staring at me. She seemed confused, but not upset. Then she threw herself forwards, arms stretched out. I knew I was too far away, but she didn't seem to notice. She got yanked back before I could stop her, I heard her wrist snap and she yelped in pain.

"Owww." She whined a few seconds later.

I went up to her and tried to examine her wrist, but the manacle was so thick I couldn't even see it.

"Don't!" She shouted at me.

I sighed and went to pick up the key from the table by her door. "It's your choice." I said on my way back. "I can remove it, and look at your wrist. Or you can leave it on and let it heal wrong. It will be more painful, because I'll have to re-brake it afterwards. Or someone will."

She didn't reply, but didn't flinch when I took the manacle of her wrist. You could see the lines where it had been too tight, bright pink lines. Blood rushed through her arm where it couldn't before. I could see everything. The brake was nasty. Her wrist bone had come forwards and was pressing into the top off her skin. You could see the bruise now, I couldn't imagine what it would be like after.

"Is this going to hurt?" She whispered.

I nodded and reset it in the same moment. She didn't scream, or even flinch.

"Good." I said to her. This was awkward.

"Are you staying then?"

I looked to her, slightly shocked. Shouldn't she hate me? "Do you want me here?"

"If it stop's me going crazy..." She muttered with a shrug, but wouldn't meet my eyes.

"I thought you would hate me. You will when you find out..."

"Find out what?"

"You're going into _'work'_ again today, and then you have to come back here and be chained - again. I'm...i'm allowed to stay this time, but I don't think I'll be able to un-chain you. Mr Pollard wants to take you for some different treatment. I can't stop them anymore Alice..."

"Oh."

"But you don't hate me?" I was lucky my voice didn't show how relieved I was.

"I'm don't _hate _you. But I don't trust you, and I don't exactly..._like _you anymore." She sighed. "Nothing can ever be _good _can it? Nothing can stay the same. I can't be happy, nobody can. Why? Why is life so...horrible?"

This place was wearing off on her. You could tell by her pessimism, the way she spoke and saw things. "Because life is like that, especially in here."

"Then why are you here?"

I didn't answer.

* * *

**Alice's POV**

Dorian was right about me working again. He took me there, getting several glares, and nasty words thrown at him. Once again, I had to stumble my way through the dark until the same lady found me. She was annoyed this time, saying kids never pay attention when they should. She seemed pleased that I was being treated tonight though. She said the quicker we're out the better. I wanted to agree, but kept my mouth shut.

As I worked, I looked down on the needle, thinking. It was sharp, sharp enough to cut me. Perhaps if I cut deep enough, it could hurt me? Kill me even? I'd never get away with it though. I almost laughed at how stupid I'd been. It was amazing how much your vision could change in a matter of hours. Change from fairly optimistic, to completley and utterly pessimistic. Depressed. Stressed. Alone. I had no choice but to live here, and now I wanted to die.

"Get up." A voice said from behind me. I jumped, scared.

"Get. Up." They repeated.

I didn't move, they grabbed me by my bad wrist and dragged me up. I screamed in pain.

"You idiot!" I shouted at them.

That did it. Their hand _whacked _across my face. "OW!"

"Shut up then, and come on."

They dragged me again, probably not sure if I was going to move again.

* * *

I blinked in the light as they took my outside, the light was there for long though, and nor was the heat. I was took inside again and into the dark. The hall was barely lit, only three gas lamps across the whole thing. I knew i'd been here before, I just knew. What block was this?

"Where are we going then?" I asked.

The man looked down on me, I finally saw him clearly. He was about fathers age, late thirties or maybe in their forties. His hair was an ash-y brown, with the first signs of gray coming through. His face looked worn; tired.

"When was the last time you were treated?" He asked, and continued walking.

"You mean tortued?"

He yanked on my arm sharply. "You with Dorian I take it?"

I shrugged and he laughed. "It's so obvious. You wouldn't believe."

"Will you just answer my question?" I snapped, instantly flinching away incase he slapped me for my cheek.

He didn't. "Just some...tests. It's about time we saw how you were doing."

"What do you mean?"

We'd stopped outside a door. He opened it and we walked in before he spoke. "Everyone needs to be examined, Mary. It's compulsory. It's been two years. You should have been checked ages ago but you had your little guard dog."

I felt the need to hit him, but ignored it. No matter how much I was annoyed at Dorian, he did not deserve this. My fate wasn't his fault anyway. So instead, I corrected the man, "My name's Alice." And looked around the room.

It was brighter than usual, I noticed the blind was open. I looked out, not caring about the rest of the room. From here, you could see everything. You could see past the gate, the high poles and the big sign and then onto feilds. Miles of feilds. I didn't care that there were feilds there, if it was only feilds. It was better than nothing.

"Stop staring." He muttered and purposly made a loud scraping noise with the chair, signalling me to sit down. "You need to be _checked on."_

I cringed at the way he said his words. He wrote something down on his peice of paper. Was this what Ethan had recently been through? I tried to convince myself that it was. It made me feel better. But I still had that tiny voice in the back of my head. The voice telling me it was a lie.

**Review PLEASE (: **


	20. Chapter 20

**Alice's POV**

We were nearing the end of stupid thing by now. I was glad. I couldn't see outside anymore, he'd got annoyed and shut the blind. I wanted to go home.

"I heard you're a bit of an artist..." He muttered, like he didn't want me to hear, but he looked up from writing and made eye contact.

Damn. I'm not allowing him make eye contact...

I shrugged.

"Can you draw for me? Anything of your choice."

"I want to draw outside."

He shook his head. "Can't you draw me?"

"No, I want to draw outside."

He sighed but walked over to the blind and opened it. I smiled sweetly at him. He passed me some paper, and a pencil. I said thankyou and got to work.

This wasn't going to be hard.

* * *

Like I thought, it didn't take me long.

Soon, he was walking me back to my room. I didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing. I'd be locked up again, no doubt. But would it be better than being with _him? _I didn't know...

We walked right past my room though.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He looked down on me and laughed. "It's not -"

"It is _time. _Bring her back. Now."

The man turned sharply, pulling on my bad arm, to face the voice. Dorian.

I tried not to _scream _at the man holding my arm. He had _no_ idea how much this hurt right now. It had all bruised up - even more than it was before. I knew I was staring, I wasn't the only one. It looked like it was detached, it made me feel sick.

"How did you do that?" The man asked me.

I never answered. Dorian hissed.

"Pass her back, Reynolds."

_Reynolds. That was his name. _I had to remember that. I looked back up once to match a name to a face. I wouldn't forget him.

"What are you going to do?" Reynolds laughed.

"Seriously, Pass. Her. Back. Now."

Reynolds laughed again. "Well wh -"

**Dorian's POV**

I said I would. I knew in my mind, that I would go to the death to protect Alice. Now was when she needed me. I couldn't help her that much, couldn't keep her checked on as much as I used to, couldn't watch her sleep and calm her when she was restless. Nobody slept in these places. And so now, when I had to seperate from her, I knew that I'd go to the death to save every last minute I had.

So I was gripping Reynolds around the throat. I heard him cough and choke. But the rage and the anger inside me never told me to stop. His feet were dangling, kicking, trying to get down, to touch a flat surface. I could feel his pulse against my finger. I could _see _it. The way it was struggling. The way the blood was trying to move through and around his kneck and head. I watched him breath deperatley - Or at least try. His chest rose and fell too quickly. For those few seconds, I was completley lost in him. Watching him die infront of me.

That's when a little sense hit me. This isn't what I was, or what I should be. It wasn't even...natural. I'd trained myself for decades, _centuries _so I didn't kill a human. I'd given up human blood a long time ago, but even now as I held him I could feel that sharp burning in my throat. I had to let go. I would not kill a human, no matter how vile they were. I'd managed not to kill Franco yet.

As soon as I dropped him I noticed Alice.

Her wrist was swollen and she held it to her chest, crying. I felt my eyes water.

"Alice?" I whispered.

She looked from me to Reynolds and back again. I nodded. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "Why?"

That's not what I expected...

"Because I almost killed him. And I've messed up big time..."

She shook her head again and stumbled over to me. I heard a scream from behind me.

"It's okay!" I shouted to the women, staring at Reynolds limp, pale body on the floor. "He's...collapsed. Go and get the nurses."

The women nodded, another came up the stairs and sat with him for a few minutes before the nurses came. I went and took Alice to her room.

All I could think about is whether or not they would class Reynolds off as dead, or not. He was pale, and barely breathing. It had took me a while before I could let go, but I hadn't actually killed him. He had a faint pulse and was breathing. Would they see that? Would their human senses pick it up?

"Where is everyone lately?" Alice asked suddenly.

I turned to her. "Umm, pretty much like you. Why?"

She shook her head. "How about Jimmy?"

That cut me short. I went to speak, but for the first time in my life - my existence nothing came out. "Umm, he-he died."

She stared at me. I was surprised she didn't know. It wasn't the fact that he was dead that bothered me. If you worked here, you had to get used to that. And get used to it quickly. Death was common here. It was the way he was killed. By who.

"How?" She asked.

She had to ask that, didn't she? I forced myself not to be angry. It was just a question, she never even knew.

"He was in trouble. And...And James was punishing him. James hit him, and then...umm, he threw him into the wall. Jimmy was annoying him further, he kept saying that James could physically hurt him, but could never touch his soul. James kept throwing him. I went in at the last throw. He hit into the table, and his kneck cracked. He was dead in seconds."

She stared at me, shocked.

Once she'd recovered, she asked another: "Where's Florence...I mean, what happened to her?"

"You watched her fall." I said. It came out harsher than I'd wanted.

"She died?"

"Yes, Alice, She died."

"Why does my arm still hurt so much?" Obvious change of subject.

"Let's have a look."

She held it up. It was dislocated, and broken. The swelling, the bruising. It _looked _painful.

"I'm going to have to set it. That'll be awkward."

She nodded and held her breath.

* * *

**Big jump again guys, this is FOUR years later, but don't worry (: Everything is cool. Alice is almost 17 now :O Still a good two years to go ;)**

**Dorian's POV**

I hated leaving her there. Alone. She was so...damaged now. Always left in that dark, cold ... cell. I was glad I could go back to her now. I'd been waiting hours.

She was sat, pulling on her chains again. I sighed seeing her swollen, bruised wrists.

She looked up to me, trying to smile - I think.

Everytime I went to her, it made me want to just hold her, and take her out. Take her away from here, now before she could be hurt anymore. But for some reason, I had that little voice in my head saying she'd gone too far. Alice had fell for their lies. She was on that thin, thin line. I knew, with even the slightest knock, she would go over. I had to do everything I possibly could to protect her recently. I couldn't tell if I was helping her though...

I undid the chains. She'd re-broke her wrist. I didn't know how she managed it. I was amazed how many times, over and over again. At least once every _month. _

"Does this hurt?" I asked, pressing into her wrist.

She shrugged.

I'd seen her records get worse and worse. They were considering moving her somewhere rougher in the asylum, but I wouldn't allow it. Right now though, I think they were on the edge whether they would listen to me or not - I wasn't sure. Her drawing had stayed the same. I kept her drawing, it seemed to bring her to reality. Or _a _reality. She was still good at that. Everything else had deterierated though. She couldn't go out to work anymore. The last time she'd been, she'd stabbed herself several times with the pin. I was grateful she was alive. That's all now. The amount of torture she'd been through was...indescribable. I don't know how her tiny body endured it all. Now she was seventeen, I was tempted to change her. Perhaps give her a decent life. But I don't think I could. I couldn't control her. I couldn't look after her, explain to her what she was and what she needed to do. The rules, the way of life. _My _way of life. In fact, I was pretty sure she still didn't believe I was a vampire.

As I treated her I noticed a large gash down her other arm. I sighed, but otherwise ignored it. It looked fresh, but it wasn't bleeding. I was thankful. I needed to go hunting, my throat was burning as I stood next to any human. My eyes were black. It had been two and a half weeks. I had to go tonight.

"There." I said, after I'd wrapped it up in a rag. "I need to go out, okay? I'll be back in a bit, I promise. It will be okay. But while i'm gone, I need you to promise me you won't pull on your arm again."

She nodded.

"Good girl. I'll see you soon." And I was out the door.

* * *

As usual, I was out of the asylum in under a minute. It wasn't really hard, especially when nobody could see you.

For some reason, I passed by Alice's house on my way to the north. I didn't know I was going there, my legs just took me that way. I ran past, trying not to look too hard so I didn't find a reason to look further. I didn't want to. It wouldn't be good for me. I went into the forest, the nearest one. I couldn't be bothered to go to the any others. This wouldn't take long.

* * *

**I'm sorry this took so long, and wasn't THAT good, but the next chapter should be guys (: I'll try not to make such a long break - I think it was about a week and a half, right? Sorry (: REVIEW still please.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thankyou for the reviews guys (: Means ALOT. A special thanks to 'hnt1213' for her amazing review and comments on my story, that meant alot alot to me ;) THANKYOU :D**

**Alice's POV**

I sat here, just staring. Staring at my arm. The best I could anyway. When Dorian shut that door, everything went dark. Really dark. I hadn't seen light for a long time. Sure, people came and checked on me, but they never took me out. My visions were getting 'worse'. Really they were getting stronger. I could see further into the future of anything I wanted to. Except the dead, and Dorian of course. I wasn't quite sure why. And that is what I had to do all day. Every day. I had to make questions for myself, for other people. For life. I had to try and work them out. Find the answers. I cheated sometimes of course, you don't have many options when you're stuck in a cell like this for hours. So to cheat, I used my visions. For example, I guessed and wondered what time Dorian would be back when he had to leave me. I was trying to gain a concept of time doing this. Perhaps a routine. But nothing. I had no idea when it was day, or when it was night. I slept when I could - Which wasn't often. It was difficult. The screams were more common. I could almost make a routine from these, I thought I had one once, but Dorian told me they had different people almost daily. I knew this would effect the screams. So that failed. I usually slept when I was nearing colapsing. Or perhaps that was me collapsing. I wasn't sure because I didn't know how long I was asleep. My question for today was _How long am I going to be here for? _and _Am I going to die here?_

I guessed a few times. There are several possibilities. I could die here, soon, and nobody would no any different. Perhaps Dorian...He didn't seem to care too much anymore. At least he didn't show it infront of me, like he used to. I think that's because he thought he was going to break me though. Take me 'over the edge'. I wanted to convince him that I was fine, that I wasn't on that 'fine line' as he liked to put it. Because at times, I felt fine. I couldn't be sure though. I didn't know if he really was protecting me from going over. And sometimes, I just felt so numb, and negative that I knew exactly what he meant. And how he was exactly right. So I sort of followed him. The other possibility was that my visions would actually - at some point, hopefully before my death - would disapear. I'd be tested a few months, they'd let me out and I'd live the normalist life I could. It was the only thing I could do. I couldn't really think of anything else, although there must have been others.

Trying to forget it was impossible. I knew there was no point, so I tried to _see _what was going to happen. If it dissapeared, I was going to die. I knew that.

I'd seen Mr Franco coming for me just...then a months ahead...although it kept going blurry, it was hard to concentrate. I blamed this on Dorian being there. I couldn't see him. But then it went completley blank. I re-ran it in my head. Over, and over, and over. Blank at that same point every single time. My death, it had to be. I tried to work out the nearest date. Months...it was months away, and that's all I knew. A matter of months .

**Dorian's POV**

I couldn't have been long out there. A day, two days maybe. That was the maximum. I did everything as quickly as possible, forcing myself as full as possible. It was a kind of weird feeling after a while...

But on my way back I heard screaming. I couldn't resist following it. I had to see what it was. Why it was so...terrified.

* * *

Not what I expected.

"JAMES!" A voice shouted.

He turned to me instead of the voice who shouted. I knew, before I even saw him. I knew who he was. His scent. There was barely a change, it had just lost it's appeal. James. His hair was long now, tied back, but very long. Still that ash blonde...maybe slightly lighter.

"JAMES!" The same voice shouted.

James didn't turn. He didn't move. His blazing eyes were focused only on me. I saw into his mind, the way he was trying to look through all those fuzzy human memories. He knew me. He couldn't put a name to his face.

"James, you will be punished if you do not come here this second..."

I saw the little click in his brain. Just the point when he matched the two; The memory and me.

"Dorian..." His voice was barely a whisper.

I smiled at him, only slightly. The least I could do was try and secure him. Make him feel...safe. This had to be disorientating.

"You know him?" The other vampire came from the distance. Behind him were three others, newborns of course, no where near as old as James.

James didn't answer. He continued to stare at me. He slowly began backing away though. One small step at a time.

"Who are you?" The man asked me.

"My name is Dorian. Why are you creating newborns?"

The old vampire shrugged. "Company? Perhaps a war? I don't really know, don't really care. I thought...he'd make a brilliant vampire. When I met him...I kept him for a while. All the others kept...destroying one another. So in the end I made him."

"You _made _him? After keeping him there, like a _pet?"_

He shrugged again. "We have to go, don't we James? A lot to do..."

"Yes, well be careful. You know what happened last time..."

The vampire nodded, and reached out to take James' arm instead of allowing him those last few steps. They went quickly out of the door.

* * *

**Alice's POV**

I had to have been asleep for a while. The only thing that woke me was the rattling of these stupid chains. I forced my eyes to open and wished I hadn't.

"Sorry, Alice. Didn't mean to wake you..."

Him. I'd seen him in my vision, I should have been expecting it.

"When people shake chains around a persons broken wrist, Mr Franco, they wake up."

He nodded. "Sorry."

"No your not..." I mumbled.

He either pretended he didn't hear well, or he really didn't hear. Mr Franco was _very _old now. I was...amazed he was still here. Perhaps because this is the only job he could get now. Or he just didn't want to stop torturing people.

"What today?" My voice didn't come loudly, it hurt. I tried to remember the last time I'd drunk, but it was hard. Must have been a long time ago...

Like he could read my mind, Mr Franco passed me a small glass of water. It must have been close, he wouldn't have gone out of his way for it.

"Well, I know you haven't had this in quite a while. Not from what your records say anyway. So I thought it would be ... refreshing for you. It seemed to do some good last time, did you realise you didn't have vision for weeks?"

I thought about what he was on about...he was right. It had been a long time. He was on about 'bathing' me. Ugh.

"No, perhaps that was because I was un-conscious?" I spat.

He laughed. "Come on, Alice."

I hadn't noticed the chains were of me. My broken wrist throbbed. He pullled me up, surprisingly missing my bad wrist, and took me out.

* * *

For some reason, the whole way here I hoped we would have to pop outside to get to the room. Even though I knew the room was upstairs, not far from me really...

There was always hope, I knew that.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I was already doing it. I had to undress to just a vest and underwear. This was one of the last vests I had, too...

"Good..." He muttered.

I nodded and sighed.

"Come here..."

He held his arms out. I saw the big machine down the side of the tub, and then looked back to his arms. Shouldn't I be in that and not in his arms?

"Come on, Alice. We don't have all day."

"In other words, hurry up, Alice. Dorian'll be back in a second."

That did it.

He stormed up to me, grabbed my - bad - wrist and attempted picking me up by my stomach. It hurt, but I didn't moan. There wasn't a point.

"Blimey, Alice. For someone so small...and someone who barely eats...you weigh a bit, don't you?"

"It's only 'cause your old. And I barely eat because you stupid people never feed me."

I'd been much worse to the staff lately. They didn't deserve manners, and I'd discovered the pain and the torture wasn't much worse when I was bad. Unless you were with Mr Franco. But I wasn't making such an exception to him that he thought he was special. That would just be...Ugh. He's anything but special. He _was _the worst. He _is _the worst.

"Shut up, Alice." He snapped and threw me down into the water.

You didn't quite feel it at first. It was so cold...it was such a shock, it never registered. My arms fell out at my sides, my bad wrist whacked against the metal side. My mouth opened in protest, but I only ended up swallowing the freezing water. That's when I really felt the cold. It stung my body...after a while it stiffened my limbs. I forced my head above the water to breath but I ended up choking on the water already on my chest. I heard a laugh, only a quiet laugh. I knew he wouldn't touch me yet, not until I was really struggling. This wasn't the worst yet, and I knew it...

I fell back under the water, my mouth still open. For some reason my brain wouldn't function properly to close it now. So I continued to choke on the water. It began burning my throat. My limbs and joints were completley stiff. At least my wrist had gone numb now...I couldn't even feel it hitting against the metal now.

My head rose on it's own now. I managed to take a deep, long breath before Mr Franco's hand pushed me down again. I thrashed, trying to come back up, but everytime I managed it his hand was there.

A fuzzy haze began to cloud my vision. I knew I'd soon be out of it, hopefully for a while. Perhaps then my brain could do something with itself. Mr Franco clearly didn't notice. His hand continued to push me down. Stopping just before he actually touched the water.

The clouds got bigger, blocking more and more of my vision. Stopping my brain from working and causing my body to numb. I didn't have long now...If I could hit my head, It would be over quicker, or at least that's what I hoped. I'd have to do it hard enough. If I didn't, I'd just be in pain...

"Enough." A voice said.

Not again...he couldn't be here again. Why? Not like I was complaining, If I was it would be stupid. I have much worse things to moan about right now.

"You're not allowed to stop her treatment, out."

I wanted to keep listening then. To see what happened, but as always just when I really wanted to listen the haze got darker and thicker. Soon, it was just blackness I saw.

**Don't forget to review again guys, thankyouuu(:**


	22. Chapter 22

**Dorian's POV**

We both heard her head hit off the side of the tub with a _whack. _We'd both looked. He didn't seem bothered though. I didn't know how she'd managed it...if only she kept still. It would be over much quicker, too. And maybe, just maybe, Mr franco might get bored with her...?

Wasn't likely.

I walked over, Franco just staring...he should be here. Not her. Roles reversed, I'd like to see that played out. I could feel the venom burning down my throat, around my mouth. _I wouldn't kill him. _I told myself, sternly. He stared at me as I lifted her body and carried her to to the door.

"You can't stop her treatment." He repeated.

I turned back around and stared at him for a long minute. "It already looks like it's ended..."

He laughed. "Not until I say...and I record it."

"Well, you may want her to die, but I don't. Go and record it. Treatment over."

"Dorian, give her back." He hissed.

I shook my head and began walking out.

"Dorian, you're young. You don't know what you're doing, you're terrified of looking after Alice, I know you are. Because you know you can't. You doubt yourself. Well, you're right. You can't look after her, let me..I'm much older than you-"

"No, no you're not." I snapped at him.

He laughed.

"I, Franco, am 682 years old. Much, much older than you. And whether or not I can look after her _properly...I don't know. But. _I seem to be doing a pretty good job right now." He stared at me as I walked out the door.

"And you know she'd be dead if I weren't here!" I shouted back down the hall.

* * *

I'd felt his eyes on my back the whole time I'd been walking.

It wasn't until I'd got to her room that I didn't feel a threat, it was odd.

Alice was still limp, and very, very cold in my arms. I'm surprised her body wasn't...shaking or something.

"Alice?" I whispered.

She didn't move. I listened for her heart, her breathing. Once again it was faint. Shock? Cold? I didn't know? Once again I wrapped her in blankets and craddled her in my arms, trying not to touch her too much. I didn't want to make her colder. Then I waited.

**Alice's POV**

I was aware. It must have been hours, days? Weeks even? I actually didn't know, but from the ache in my stiff body and my body temperature...it hadn't been that long. I was still quite cold. Everything around me was black, with little blurry patterns in between. If there was a between...I sounded crazy. It was like a big, black blanket was pulled over me. Ugh. I forced my eyes to open, tried my very hardest - but everything was still black. Something loud, and high rung in my ears. It was a horrible sound. I wanted it to stop. For a second it did, I felt myself take a long, deep breath, but it never seemed to do any good, it didn't feel like the air was going into my lungs. Then the ringing noise came again, I moaned helplessley. I couldn't breath then. Someone kept shaking me.

"GO AWAY!" I tried to shout, but for some reason, I couldn't talk. Like my voice was busy...

"ALICE, SHHH."

Then my eyes shot open. My whole body shook. Dorian was infront of me, he was the one who was shaking me. His hand reached up and covered my mouth. I realised it was me making that high, loud, annoying sound. Ugh.

"Dorian?" My voice was just a breath, so quiet. I didn't know how I'd screamed...I could breath better now though, perhaps I should have stopped screaming before...

"Alice. Thank God."

I smiled slightly, he pulled me to his chest. That's when I noticed when we were in my room. My cell...

"How did you carry me _here?"_ I asked.

He laughed. "You've either never believed me...you have a very bad memory, or you completley under-estimate me."

I stared at him, confused. Then it clicked. "Oh, vampire thing."

"Yes, 'vampire thing'." He reached his arms up and made quotation marks. I felt myself falling backwards, then suddenly I was lay on his chest.

"That was fast..."

He chuckled. "Are you warm enough?"

I just shrugged.

"Right, well -"

He cut off. I stared at him, confused - again. He was good at doing that. He was just looking at my 'window'. Terrified.

"Alice, you need to warm up, okay? I'm going to go and...I'll be back in a minute." And he was gone. Just like that.

**Dorian's POV**

"JAMES!" Someone shouted. I recognized the voice...not well, but I knew I'd heard it before."JAMES, GET HERE!"

I was outside already, I jumped - one quick, swift movement - over the fence, and I saw him. He wasn't that far off, he could see me, I could see him. A human probably wouldn't though. Not yet...

"JAMES. NOW."

"Dorian?" He smiled at me, then looked back up to the asylum.

"No, James. Go back." He'd stared walking towards me. I shook my head again.

How old was he?

"This is it James, one for time. I'm going." The man shouted again.

James turned back, then to me and then to the asylum.

"No." He said. And ran away.

Why had he even come?

I didn't care, as long as he had gone. I had to look after Alice.

* * *

**Alice's POV. (set a few minutes after Dorian leaves)**

I sat there, waiting for him, the blanket tightly wrapped around me. I was still shaking, too. I focused on the footsteps coming and going down the hall, tried not to focus on the screaming and crying. Or the crazed shouting. This is when things really got to me here, I thought I'd been getting better. Clearly not.

I heard a particular set of footstpes, I'd got so used to them now. It was easy to spot them out. And they were running.

My door flung open, I hadn't realised how close they were.

"Com-" He began, but thought of a different idea.

Mr franco's hand snapped out and yanked me up. I stumbled across the rest of the room, and down onto the floor several times.

He kept tugging, I kept falling. He didn't seem to notice though, so I had to stumble up and try and catch up. I was cold, and tired. Why was he doing this? What had I done now? I hadn't had more than one treatment for...a long, long time.

"What now then?" I moaned.

He didn't answer me. We'd gone out, but quickly went back in. I'd barely taken a breath. I wanted to go back out. Smell the air...

We didn't stop, he dragged me all the way to a small, wooden door. It didn't look very strong, and with a firm kick it flung open.

"Who now?" A women sighed.

The room was pitch black, I couldn't see a thing. Mr Franco seemed to know where he was going though, he took me round what seemed to be a corner. Then we were walking down a narrow corridor. Even I, with my tiny arms, could easily touch either side of the walls. With my elbows being bent. Mr Franco stood me infront of him, theere defiantly wasn't enough room for two. Further down there was a gas lamp, it lit up a few foot, then everything slowly got dark again. The floor was filthy. Again we turned into another corner, I began wondering where that women was. Never would we have heard her from where we were, she wouldn't have heard the door open, either. Not if she was all the way through this way. But we kept walking. We took a sharp turn to the left, then another to the right, down a whole other corridor and then several sharp lefts like we'd gone round in a big circle. Was that it? Was he trying to confuse me? To disorientate me?

"Took your time..." I heard the women mutter.

Mr franco laughed. I squinted, trying to see the women clearly. She was with others, probably about 6. She was at a shelf, a bar like shelf with a room the other side. The more and more you looked over, the darker and darker it got until I saw four tall doors. They weren't very well lit, I hoped there were other lamps, if I was going there.

"It's Alice, she's...special." He explained. "How are you?"

"What do you want?" She replied. That wasn't an answer...

"Nothing, I'm just talking to you."

"Room three."

He laughded and began dragging me towards one of the doors.

* * *

"Dorian is going to come and get you." I shouted at him. He laughed again. What was with the buzzy mood?

"Right, well. Where is he now exactly?"

"Coming back." I said, then a few seconds later. "Now he's looking in my room." And a few seconds later. "And now, he's searching for you."

Mr Franco laughed at each of my suggestions, but otherwise ignored me. We'd got to the room now.

"You know," He said as he unlocked the door. "You seem well, if it weren't for your permenent visions...you'd be gone."

I shrugged and stared into the room.

Nothing I'd ever seen before...

It was just a room, nothing special. The blind was shut, like almost every single room, it was dark. I could vaguely see a chair. Mr franco left my side for a second and a light came on. I could see things properly now. There was a chair, almost in the centre of the room. A table was in the corner, the light shining of something making it stand out over the dark wood. It didn't look out of the ordinary.

"Sit in the chair, would you?"

He turned around and locked the door, I went over and sat in the chair. Purely to stop him moaning.

"Good." He said once he'd turned around. Then he walked up to me and stood before me for a few minutes, his hands on the arms of the bulky chair.

I didn't see, or hear as the locks came flying up from beneath the chair arms, and locked onto my wrists. It wasn't until I felt one of them hit my broken wrist. My teeth clamped onto my bottom lip, I tasted blood. Great(!) Locks fit into place at my ankles too. I glared up at Mr franco, he had a smug smile on his face.

"I didn't think I'd get away with that you know." He muttered to himself.

I tried to kick out, but the chain pulled back. Ow.

"I wouldn't bother trying." He walked over to the desk, I couldn't see him now. It bugged me. He paranoid me.

I heard his footsteps as he retreated. Each one getting closer.

In his hand was a blade, a long, sharp blade. I stared at it for a few seconds, almost confused. It was weird. As soon as I'd got it, I didn't know why I hadn't understood it before. That was blade. Blades cut. Blades...kill.

"No!" I started screaming.

Mr franco laughed. "I'm not going to kill you..."

He lifted the blade and pressed it to my wrist. I couldn't breath, or speak. My voice had completley stopped on me. I was going to die. No doubt. He was going to kill me. And Dorian couldn't save me. He was a vampire...I think. That meant he drank blood, he told me, he didn't drink human blood. But still, the smell of it must be...painful? He wouldn't be able to come here, I know he wouldn't. I was dead. Ugh.

"Please don't." I whispered.

He didn't speak. The blade slid back across my wrist, it didn't hurt. He hadn't cut it yet. I low whimper escaped my lips, I couldn't help it. My heart was beating out of my chest. It slid, very slowly, and very deeply across my wrist again. This time it cut. I felt it. Little red droplets came to the surface of my arm. Then a thick, claret line. It stung, but I'd had worse. The anticipation was for nothing. I just felt sick now, very sick. My head was spinning.

He walked over to my other arm, the bloody blade slid across again. This one seemed to hurt more...Was that because it was broken? I bit my lip, I could taste blood. He made another line, and another, and another. Four lines in a row. Same for my other arm. I was quiet. My eyes tightly closed, just biting my lip to stop myself bleeding. I didn't know what this was supposed to do, how it was supposed to 'help' me. Or whether he just wanted to hurt me, a kind of punishment. It was working.

I heard footsteps, quick footsteps. Another line, this time across my kneck. The blood was getting heavier, I could smell it. Seriously. It smelt...disgusting. Clouding the air. I focused on the footsteps. The - I think the same person - began shouting. Things were being thrown.

The door flew open.

"Dorian, get out!" Mr Franco roared.

My eyes shot open, I saw him, stood in the doorway. He was staring at my arm, his eyes half crazed. I clenched my hands into fists, trying to pull away, but it only hurt. I shut my eyes again. What exactly could I do?

* * *

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	23. Chapter 23

**Dorian's POV**

I could smell it, thick and sweet in the air. It clouded everything, swallowed every last bit of oxygen. I couldn't smell anything but her blood. I stopped breathing, purposley. I wouldn't be able to stand the smell of that much longer. It tickled and burnt my throat all at the same time. My mind wanted only blood, that's all I could think about except that tiny, rational part right down the back in a quiet voice. It told me to stop, to stop breathing, to get out. I only did the first two. I wasn't leaving her, whether it meant the burn in my throat got to un-bearable and I had to hunt imediatly afterwards, perhaps I'd have to leave her, lock her room, go. Go for days. At least he wouldn't get to her. Not if I had the only key.

I noticed I'd been froze there, after my head had sorted all it's problems, made solutions for each one, I'd managed to get it to run again. To think. It couldn't have been long, seconds? Minutes at most. For the first time in my life I had no concept of time. It didn't feel right. It made me paranoid.

I began moving, edging towards her slowly. Mr Franco growled at me, a basic, boring, human growl. Nothing threatening or anything for me to fear. It would have made me laugh.

"Alice?" I whispered with my last supply of breath.

She didn't smile, or even move. It was like she knew. Knew to be completley still, not to speak. Not to let anymore of her...scent out into the air. I'd never really told her much about _hunting _habits. Guess? I didn't care, she was doing me a favour.

"Dorian, out. You're stopping her treatment yet again, crucial treatment. I thought you wanted her to live. To be happy, to get out of here? Go."

I didn't know if I could stand him much longer. Perhaps I should kill him now? Snap his kneck? No, I was a vampire. I could make this long, fun.

I snapped myself out of it. _Stupid. _I thought. I was not going to kill him. I wasn't going to taste human blood again. Never. I'd leave. He'd be dead soon, anyway.

I heard footsteps outside. Loud, heavy footsteps. They were coming towards us. I recognized them.

"Mr Whitton." Mr wrill said.

I looked up, stared at him for a few seconds. He didn't seem angry. More annoyed. No clear expression was on his face. This bugged me, too.

"Yes?" My voice was a whisper from my lack of air supply. It hurt even to speak. I was going to need a new air supply soon, even I needed that to speak.

"Out. Now. You are disturbing Mary's treatment. It is not appreciated."

I heard a growl. My growl. Oops.

He stared at me a little longer, I didn't know what he was waiting for. I wasn't going to just walk out there, was I? Did he honestly think I was that weak? I mean, really?

I took in a fresh breath, a new air supply. I had to hold onto the bottom of the chair, trying not to break it. The burn in my throat _was _un-bearable. Like a hot iron poker being rammed down my throat, like flames charring my kneck, lapping up at my throat. I'd place my hand on hot ash a million times - it was nothing. Absolutley nothing. My mind was focused on the pulsing blood again. It pooled around her arm now, some dripping down onto the floor. How deep had he cut? He was going to kill her. That's when it actually kicked in. He'd cut too deep. Far too deep. It went right down, probably into her vein. I didn't trust myself to look so closely.

"She's going to die. He cut too deep." I said. I didn't really know I'd said it. My mind had thought it, I was going to say it. But my mouth moved before my command.

"How would you know that, Dorian? Come on. Now. Out." Mr wrill ordered.

I ignored him again, I wasn't walking from here. My last thought of her wasn't going to be blood.

Two men I didn't know walked in. Another three followed behind. I was surprised by them, I hadn't met them. Seen them, heard them. I was too fixated with her blood. I _needed _to go. I _was _going to attack. I couldn't snap out of this now. Not even after two hundred, three hundred years of practice. I wasn't quite strong enough to do that. That was why I hadn't worked in this department. I couldn't. They walked up to me and took my arms, pulling me backwards. I allowed them at first, they had me to the door and I was still staring. Why should I stop them, I was going to attack.

**Alice's POV**

I was going to die. Dorian had confirmed it himself, a now he was walking out of the door. Staring down at the blood, the pools of it. So much blood. Dorian wouldn't be wrong. I was going to die. Why was he allowing himself to be dragged from the room? Leaving me? I'd been dependent on him. Perhaps too dependent - again. Why didn't I learn? After years, and years, why didn't I learn? Dorian wasnt' always going to be there for me. He was going to be my saviour. I shouldn't allow him to keep hurting himself by being with me. I shouldn't let myself be so selfish, and use him to protect me because he loved me. Did he know he loved me? Was it just me making presumtions? Just because he was so close to me...I didn't know. Although I could focus on things, think about them and work them out and make solutions to problems - and make knew probelms - everything seemed to be a slight blur. It made my head hurt.

I'd known to be still. Dorian had never told me about his hunting habits, but he had about scents. The way he could smell so much more than a human. The way his senses were so much greater. Through all the mess I'd gathered I shouldn't move. That would only spread my scent more, maybe put a new scent out into the air. If I spoke, it was defiantly put a scent into the air. My scent, and with the blood - which must have been horrendous - that could have tipped him over the edge. If he ever hurt me I knew it would kill him. I couldn't allow it, it was just nasty. Cruel towards him.

So I clicked. I shut up, I kept still and I just watched as he was dragged from the room.

He'd only got just past the door when he started shouting. I wouldn't even allow myself to think of the words he was saying. I never knew Dorian even had those words in his mind, if he even thought of them. I didn't think Dorian was that kind.

Ethan came running up behind him. I only recognized him by his hair, other than that I couldn't see him. My vision was beginning to go blurry. I tried to look at myself over the rabble that was now going on. Ethan was trying to get the big, bulky men off Dorian. He was trying to calm Dorian. I didn't want to watch. Mr Franco acted like nothing was going on. He looked back down at me and smiled, walked over to the table and got a longer, sharper knife. I felt my heartbeat increase, it felt like it was pumping out of my chest. Any second I'd see it. Dorian noticed it. I felt him look up to me. I had to see, and confirm, he was there. Staring at Mr Franco. He screamed another row of cuss words, I catched "NO!" In there this time. I saw Ethan try and look up too. _Look Away! _I wanted to scream at them. Nothing came from my pale lips. I didn't know what to do. They wouldn't listen anyway, I tried to convince myself...

Mr Franco laughed and pressed the freezing blade to the top of my wrist. I watched. He was exactly over one vein. I could see it perfectly, it seemed to be pumping under my skin. It stuck out, too, over my pale skin. It ran all the way down my arm. Green-ish colour. It looked like the thickest too. Why was I staring at my vein?

The knife very slowly ran back and forth, it felt so firm on my skin, but it never cut. It was like Mr Franco was teasing Dorian. I went dizzy, my arms felt like weights, dragging it right down. Everything felt heavy. Weak. Painful.

Suddenly the knife flew away from my skin. I heard it clatter onto the floor, followed my six heavy thuds. My vision was like...like I was staring through a veil. A black veil. It almost hurt. My head was spinning, I wanted to go to sleep. I was too scared. I might not wake up.

A low growl came from behind me, I heard gasps. Like shortened breath, coming from one person. I had to make sure, for just a minute that it wasn't coming from me. It wasn't. I didn't turn. Ethan came running up again, he ran past my chair, tried to jump over the blood, but ended up skidding. That's really how much blood was down there. He smashed into Dorian, i think it made a loud noise. I didn't know. I couldn't work it out. My head was such a mess. It hurt so much.

"OW!" Someone screamed.

Dorian growled again.

"DORIAN, STOP." Ethan screamed. It had to be Ethan.

I was aware of several men clambering up, huffing and puffing. Mr wrill was hitting the wall. _Thud, Thud, Thud. Thud. Thud. THUD. _My head ached. I'd never known anything like it.

"DORIAN, ALICE IS DYING, AND YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT TEACHING A LESSON TO _HIM?"_

I knew I was dying. He didn't need to repeat it. But it seemed to work. Dorian got up, still growling. He moved all the way back to me. I didn't move, I didn't look up. He was just silent now. I was so tired...I didn't care now if I didn't wake up. I shut my eyes. In fact, they shut thereselves. I couldn't hold them open any longer. They were just so heavy...

"Alice, no." Someone was tapping my face. "Alice, open your eyes! Do not go to sleep Alice." Slapping. Slapping my face. Ouch. I could cope with it, it wasn't as bad as everything other thing hitting me right now. "Alice, if you go to sleep...you won't wake up, Alice. Please..." Their voice had gone to a whisper. I could barely hear it.

I tried to open my eyes, they were begging me, I had to. It was only...politeness. That's what I would take it for. As my eyes fluttered I heard a "Yes!". My mind didn't agree though. It didn't agree at all.

"Ow.."

Had that just come from my mouth!

"It's okay, Alice. Everythings going to be okay, I promise. Stay here, okay? I know you're tired, I know. But you can't you can't go to sleep. Not yet." While they were talking I felt the pressure off my wrists release. I was scooped up into someones arms and craddled like a child. Their arms weren't cold like Dorians, it had to be Ethan. They began walking, their breath heavy. After only a few steps they were panting. It was defiantly Ethan. I thought he'd left. I knew it. Something had to have happened to him. I wouldn't think of that. I wouldn't think of anything. It hurt.

Ethan stopped, I felt him turn. "Dorian, now." He said.

**Dorian's POV**

I'd heard, but my mind was focused on Franco's heartbeat. It stuttered, slowed, quickened. It wasn't right. He was having a heart-attack and it was all my fault. I'd killed someone. The blood was another. It was there, in big, thick pools. Just there. Almost waiting.

"DORIAN!" Ethan shouted.

Alice. Alice was going to die. What exactly could I do now? I couldn't take her down to the medical, they'd see this as treatment and allow her to bleed. Keep bleeding until her death.

"Dorian, she's going to die without you. Please." He begged.

I turned, tried to force my feet to move. I had to get them to move. I had no choice. Mr Franco deserved to die, I had to convince myself that. Even if it was just for a few hours. Two people would not die in my day. Especially not Alice.

Mr wrill was frozen by the doorway now along with his body guards. Probably in shock. I had been close to ripping Franco's throat out. As I flew past Alice, I'd been close to killing her. Stop breathing. I wasn't even speaking now. All my other senses were more alert, my mind seemed annoyed that it couldn't smell the air around it.

**Alice's POV**

Too much now. Too far. I knew I'd soaked Ethan's shirt. I could feel it warm beneath me. Too much blood gone now. My eyes kept shutting, I had to blink, but now I had to remember how to open them again. Everytime I shut them I felt my body sink. Relax. It was nice. Just for those few seconds. My arms were completley numb, I could still feel my heart pumping out from my chest. It was actually starting to hurt. I wanted to tell it to slow down, too. If it wasn't pumping blood around my body so fast (I'd learnt from Dorian that the heart pumps blood around the body, I'd also learnt about oxygenated blood and de-oxygenated blood and most of the body functions with details. He seemed to enjoy science) then blood wouldn't be pushing out of my body so fast, would it? Why couldn't it just slow down.

I blinked again and struggled to open my eyes. It seemed like forever until they were open, and even then I could barely see. Ethan was shaking me. I noticed we were walking then. Walking fast.

No. This wasn't working. I saw no point in this. Why should I, even for them, endure such pain? Selfish as it was I allowed my eyes to shut. Ethan was shaking me and then we were running. I didn't want to be here, I didn't care that if I shut my eyes now, I may never open them again, I didn't care about Mr wrill, or Mr Franco, or my life. I didn't care about the pain I was about to put Dorian or Ethan through. Nothing mattered. The pain was now my mind, and only the pain. Pain everywhere and it was because of one person. Dorian growled. I heard him. I heard that. I wonderd for a minute while I was still conscious. Every other time I went to shut my eyes they felt like they were locked down into place. Now I allowed them to shut, nothing happened. I felt something warm and wet drip onto my face. A tear. They added to my tears, tears I hadn't known were there. My heart was stuttering now, not quite going as fast. I was pulled, pulled into cold, stone arms. That's all I remembered.

Bright lights began dancing behind my eyelids, they played and danced there, attracting my attention. I watched, watched their pretty dancing. It was fun, it was sweet. A bigger, brighter light showed behind that. It began dancing and the others followed, like the big light was their leader. Then they all fuzzed up into one big bright light in my head. The light stuck there. Not interesting anymore. It didn't attract my attention. That's when I noticed. I couldn't hear outside anymore. All the pain had gone. I was just in this darkness. Darkness with a one light.

I liked it here, it was relaxing. No pain, no worries.

The bright light began dancing again, splitting up again, playing again. I watched it, almost feeling myself smile.

**Ethan's POV**

I'd never seen Dorian like this. Ever. Despite the blood still pouring from open cuts on her kneck and arms, he carried her. He'd placed her onto the bed, he'd kissed her forehead. I watched now as he pulled a sowing needle from the cupboard and attached what looked like a ... thread. He leaned down and began sowing her arm. I didn't understand why. There wasn't a point. She had to be gone, hadn't she? The amount of blood she'd actually lost...Her body was so pale, too. Her breathing so shallow.

Heartbeat?

I couldn't resist. I slowly walked up to her, not wanting to feel like a threat towards Dorian. That would drive him around the bend, I know it would. He'd probably attack, he'd already been pushed to limit. He let me come up to her, I pressed my hand gently to where her heart should be. It was beating. I thought I almost saw Dorian smile. Or try to smile. It stuttered, beat slow then beat fast but it was going. I couldn't believe it. All the things she'd been through. Every single thing. She was cheating death. She should have been dead by now. A creature which shouldn't exist in the first place had stopped her death by working here on a hide away. He'd stopped her dying so many times now it was like death was chasing her. Or maybe it was chasing them, but it couldn't quite get to Dorian? He was immortal after all. Now it was time to stop though. I could feel it. I knew it. He had to stop trying to do this. It wasn't good for her health, or his. It would never, ever work. Soon she would be dead, and he would have hurt himself even more just trying to save her the way he is now. It made no sense it was annoying. But I didn't stop him. Stopping a vampire was never a good idea. Ever. That's one never that you could say.

* * *

He'd sown her up. No more blood dripped and stained her covers. I'd held her while he stripped the covers. He'd shredded them and chucked them outside. Just outside. To him, that was enough I suppose. His eyes had gone from midnight black to a muddy goldish colour. Could he cope now? Would he be okay?

"I really need to hunt..." He muttered as he took Alice back from my arms.

"Go then, I can look after her. You can do it in hours, I know you can."

"Hours?" He laughed, but it clearly wasn't real. Completley fake. "She could die in minutes, Ethan. I'm not leaving."

"Then what are you going to do?"

He didn't answer. "Do I have to drag a deer in here or something?"

"No. You can either go, or you can stay with me. It's your choi-"

He cut off. I stared at him as his face swung to Alice. It had been only a second by the time he'd noticed something, and was had lay her onto the bed. I ran up to him, wishing I was as fast as him right now. It wasn't a lifestyle I really wanted though...

"What?" I asked, urgently.

His head shook back and forth, back and forth. "No!" He shouted.

"Dorian, what?"

I pressed my hand to her heart. That was what. It was stuttering. It was _slowing _down.

"She's dying..." He whispered.

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	24. Chapter 24

**Alice's POV**

One minute the lights had been dancing. They were pretty, entertaining. I wanted them to keep going. The next I was thrown into a strange reality. The dancing lights fell away, like they were being dragged from before me. Darkness replaced. Suddenly, I could feel all the pain in my body. My wrists didn't sting anymore, but they throbbed. A long, dull ache. I couldn't move, anything that wasn't painful wasn't there. I could barely feel my legs, my feet, most of my torso. I could feel my heart beating though. It was going wild, banging, banging. Like it was trying to force itself out of my body. I tried to move my lips, they tasted of...blood. It made me feel sick. Slowly, the feeling began in my body again. Everywhere. It _all _hurt.

"Alice? Alice, can you hear me?"

Dorian? Yes, defiantly Dorian. He was tapping my face. Trying to wake me.

I tried to open my eyes, to show him somehow I could hear him, but I couldn't. I was too weak. It felt like a brick was being held over my whole body, and I had to hold it up. It took away all my strength.

"Alice, can you move? Speak?"

The brick got slightly closer, it felt like it was pushing right onto my body. Pressing my down now. I'd never had an experience like this before. It was like nothing, ever. I wanted to die. The pain...it was just everywhere. Never felt anything like it, ever. I wondered if being stabbed a million times was worse than this? That's exactly what it felt like, all over my body. As soon as I woke up - If I woke up - I was dying. Quickly. I didn't care how.

"Alice, come on. Please."

They were begging now. Really begging, more than one voice. Ethan? Someone was crying, I could feel it dripping onto my kneck, it ran past my cuts and burned them. Ow.

Suddenly I was thrown. That's exactly what it felt like. I was thrown so hard, that it felt like my stomach had been left behind. And then I was falling.

I could actually feel the air hitting my body, it was freezing, but refreshing. It actually felt nice. I didn't care, just for a few seconds that this could be me 'falling' to my death. In fact, I turned. I turned all the way round, able to move freely in this new reality. I could see concrete below me, hard, rock, stone. It didn't bother me. Didn't worry me. It almost felt like I couldn't feel worry anymore. So I kept going, it couldn't have been long. Seconds perhaps. Everything was happening so quickly...ever since Dorian came through that door with Mr Franco. Ever since then everything was so fast. Something itched at my wrists, my stomach started turning. I wouldn't think about that then. I couldn't remember things.

But now, now I'd opened the door I couldn't shut it. Memories flooded through, the whole thing replaying in my head. My wrists stung and throbbed all at the same time, while having a weird itching sensation to them. I tried to itch it, but it made no difference. Nothing was there, not here, not in this place. My stomach was spinning so much it felt like I was going to be sick any minute. I looked back down to the hard ground. So much closer now. I still didn't care, I was actually pleased. I wanted this to be over.

The images were still going over in my head, still as I tried to focus on the ground below, edging closer, tried to focus on Dorian and Ethan. I saw little blots, like just empty spots in my mind, my imagination when I tried to see Dorian now. I stared, focused on him. It was relieving for a second but soon my head started aching. Hurting like it never had before, never in my life. It hurt so much. So I didn't focus so hard on Dorian. And that's when the picture changed, flipped...views. I was seeing from a different outlook, one I didn't know. I guessed I was having another vision - just at a stupid time.

_Someone, me, I think, was walking down the hall. Fairly quickly...too quickly for me? They turned off, I watched them and then they, or me, walked up a flight or stairs and stared at a door. They stoof for a few seconds, I could hear them breathing, heavily. Worry? They looked up once, I noticed the number. It was like they were checking they had the right room. An arm reached up and wiped something from their cheek, something wet. And then the door was opened. I saw it, the dark, gloomy room. Saw my room. The number flashed back into my head. It was my room? It had to be me, right? They walked a few more steps, and lay on the bed was Dorian. Well, he was sat on the bed, my pale, limp body curled into his arms. I saw the way my lips had gone slightly blue, the way my face was so pale, my whole body was white, my hair seemed to have lost some of it's colour, I was limp, lifeless. I was dead. The person walking wasn't me. It was someone else. Dorian looked like he was crying, but at the same time, he wasn't. His eyes looked sort of...watery. But not crying. As I involuntarily moved forwards I saw Dorian more clearly. His eyes were black as oynx, his face seemed drained. _

Then it stopped. I looked around, disorientated. It had only been a second and the whole thing had passed. Now, as I looked at the floor I wanted to stop. I needed to stop. I needed to wake up. Even if it was for just Dorian, I was being selfish. Wanting to die just because my own physical pain was something I'd never experienced before. Because that's something I was scared of, the unknown. So much so that I was selfish enough to hand that pain over to Dorian - emotionally? What was wrong with me?

I opened my mouth to scream, but I couldn't really hear anything. The wind whistled past my ears so loudly, all I could feel was the wind gushing down into my lungs. It hurt.

But this was a different place. Perhaps they could hear me? Maybe Dorian could? Would I just be putting him through un-bearable pain before I was gone forever? Or could he wake me? I didn't know. I looked down at the floor again, almost in reach. I'd be dead in a few seconds. So I opened my mouth and breathed in a huge gulp of air. Then I screamed. Screamed as loudly as I possibly could.

**Ethan's POV (Starting from the last chapter, when Dorian said she was dying.)**

We stared, just stood their for a few seconds. Then Dorian found motion. I was glad, he'd found it a lot quicker than me. Just as he got up from pressing his fingers to her wrist her body jolted, flew up in the air and collapsed back down on the bed. Dorian turned, and turned back. I saw him run from the room and run back in. Then he ran around the room to Alice. He was going so fast my human eyes wouldn't pick him up until he stopped - which wasn't very often. I couldn't see what he was doing.

Her body jolted again. I stared down at her, still not able to move. My eyes weren't affected by Dorian anymore. He was froze, too.

It had been only a few minutes, or had it been seconds? It felt like forever, but she was screaming. Screaming loudly. Then she stopped, her breathing became rapid. Sharp. I could imagine her heart in there, beating so quickly...

"Alice...please." Dorian's voice was a whisper. He picked her jumping body up and pulled her onto his lap.

My voice box finally decided to work. "There's nothing you can do, is there?"

He shook his head. At loss for words?

I paused for a second, thinking before I spoke. At least that was one helpful thing they taught you here. A few manners, and to think before you speak. To practically process every single thing you do, _before you do it. _It sounds hard, it is, or so I've heard, if you try and suddenly do it halfway through your life. You need to be brought up doing it, punished when you didn't. For me, it was the only way to learn, otherwise I could just stop. I would have. You needed to be punished. The asylum just took it to extremes. So I had to do this, to process this step because a new idea had come to my head. One Dorian could, and most probably would attack for. I wondered if he'd hurt me if I said it?

"Change her, Dorian."

Oh God. Had I just said that? I hadn't even meant to. I noticed myself moving backwards, only slightly. Dorian didn't move, he just stared at me. Right, so my body had decided to learn to walk again when I didn't need it to. When I really didn't need it to...just typical.

"I can't, Ethan. I can't look after her. She'll be a newborn, I can't take that responsibility."

**Alice's POV**

Had they even heard? I didn't know. The floor was in arms reach. I wasn't scared anymore. When you got to the point when you knew you were going to die in a matter of seconds, and know it probably won't even be painful - at least not for you - it doesn't seem to bother you.

I felt my body tense, as if preparing for imapact when I froze. I literally froze. In mid air. It felt like someone or something was carrying me though, holding me. Something was tingling my body. It tickled. Then it hurt. I wanted to rip it out. Rip everything out. Scratch under my skin but I couldn't move. Why couldn't I move?

Then my body let go again, the tingling still frozen and just as I hit...I felt it. I felt the hard concrete beneath me, my head whacked of the floor, my arm was behind me on impact - I knew that. And now I felt it, too. It cracked and I swear I felt it splinter. It splintered into a million tiny pieces. Something was warm on my head, it hurt, too. Blood? My wrists felt like they'd been ripped open now. My legs were numb. Relieving to bathe in the numbness for just a few secodns. I wanted so much to wake up - especially now. My body turned, it felt like my ribs were crunching in on me. I could feel my heart bashing in my chest...then slowly...slowly slowing down. How could I die in a dream? Where was I anyway?

* * *

One breath, one after the other. That's all I could focus on. My heart hurt so much...A big gaping hole in my chest. That's what it felt like. I still felt like I was in someone's arms. I was being jolted. It cut at every one of my wounds. Slowly I was beginning to hear things though. They sounded muffled.

Then I was woken. Something inside me hit, my heart bashed and I awoke. Dorian. I was in Dorian's arms. I was alive. Defiantly alive.

"Alice?" Someone shouted. Another pair of arms were touching me.

"Alice?" Dorian? His voice sounded...in shock. I couldn't believe I was awake.

"Never scare me again like that, Dorian!" Someone else shouted. Was it Ethan? He was the only one I could remember. My whole body ached, but not like it did on the floor. On that concrete floor I was on a second ago.

"I should be dead." My voice whispered.

Dorian shook me, held me infront of him and forced me to look to him although my eyes felt weak, and heavy. It didn't feel like me.

"Alice, don't. Don't say that. You're alive. Human. Alive. Here." You could hear the smile in his voice.

I didn't care. Once again the pain was so much that I wanted to die. I knew it could be worse though. It could be like when I was on the floor...that would be horrible, wouldn't it? For that to happen again.

He lay me back down in his arms and smiled at me. "Sleep, you'll wake up, promise."

I only had to shut my eyes, I was gone.

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	25. Chapter 25

I woke up, slightly dazed. Disoriented – better word. My head didn't seem to register who I was or where I was, only for a second, and it only took that second to make my heart pick up slightly, and my breathing to get heavier. I was panicking.

"It's okay." Someone soothed me, stroked hair away from my face and smiled. "How do you feel?"

It took me a while to answer. My brain wouldn't put things into categories, or files. It wouldn't tell work right to tell me to talk, or to even make a sentence. I had to focus on every little last thing I did or said. Even my breathing.

"I fell...weird."

He nodded.

"Shouldn't you just give her the tablet? You can leave now, she's awake." Someone said, they sounded irritated. I recognized the voice as Ethan's, but noticed myself looking to double check. I couldn't trust myself now. As thought, it _was_ Ethan. He was sat in the corner, curled into an awkward ball, his arms wrapped around his legs, but his legs were so long he was having difficulty. He stared up at me, at Dorian. Impatience and...pain?

"I suppose..." Dorian, always one for trying to think about the step before he did it stared down at me. I looked back up to him, still slightly confused. I was glad I was able to be following the conversation.

"I need to go and get some things for you...and sort things out. You'll be with Ethan, I won't be long."

By the time he'd put me on the bed Ethan was next to me. For some reason, this didn't bother me.

"Right, if she ..." Didn't listen to that. He was just giving commands, lots and lots of boring commands. By the look on Ethan's face he found them boring, too. I didn't really blame him, who could? You could slowly see the annoyance building in him. Dorian ordering him what to do had never been one of Ethan's strong points. He didn't really enjoy listening, although he only showed it with Dorian...or me sometimes – rarely. He knew Dorian wouldn't hit him, maybe? I didn't really know.

Just as it looked like he was going to blow Dorian stopped, and smiled. It had been a long few minutes.

"I'll be back...soon."

"What if Mr Franco comes for me?" I asked. Where had that come from? My sub-conscious mind? It's fear? What had happened again? I tried not to remember – at least not for now.

Dorian had already gone out the door, I kind of expected him to come back, but he didn't. Ethan answered me instead.

"He won't." Was all he said.

"How do you know?"

He sighed and opened up his arms. I shrugged with a smile on my face. He smiled back and came to sit next to me, his arm wrapped around me. "Well...do you remember what happened at all?"

Well, now I had to think of it. I suppressed a sigh and looked back, in my mind.

I remember what Mr Franco had done to me. I could still feel it – or so I thought. I looked down at my wrists. Pink-ish lines. They looked sore. They _felt _saw. How had I missed that? They killed. Some of the lines were thicker than others, some had patterns. Sick patterns. Mr Franco had decided to doodle on my arm. I reached up and ran my fingers along my neck. Only three? I thought there were more...

I glanced at Ethan, he was being surprisingly patient. Perhaps me noticing my scars was encouraging him I was on the right lines? Usually he couldn't wait...He just looked like he was holding something. Hiding it away from me, his body tensed, his shoulders barely moving as he breathed. He didn't look like he wanted to be breathing? For a just a second the thought 'Vampire' came into my head, I ignored it. Stupid. He wasn't cold, like Dorian. Nor was he pale. And I'm pretty sure, from what Dorian has said in the past, that he would not be able to sit next to me like this. Dorian wouldn't have left him here alone with me.

I thought further. Mr Franco had cut me...and then Dorian, I remember him coming in. I remember him freezing, standing and staring. I even remember trying to imagine the pain I must have been causing him. And then quite a lot was a blur. Something about Mr Wrill? And something about Dorian going out of control. Then I remember Ethan coming through and then...Dorian and something. Ugh. This was annoying.

"I remember being cut." Was all I said.

Ethan nodded. "Basically, Dorian got fairly angry. Mr Franco kept hurting you and he couldn't do anything, he was frozen by his own thirst...Then it all got kind of complicated, and then Dorian basically ended up throwing Mr Franco across the room..." He laughed, only quietly. Because it shouldn't be funny, that's why he laughed.

"Is he...dead? Is that why he won't come for me?"

Ethan shrugged. "Dorian's been quiet. He has good reason to be." He looked down on me purposely. "I'm pretty sure he's dead though. How, I don't care." He paused, his face twisted into a grimace.

"That wasn't nice..." I muttered.

He shrugged.

Everything was quiet for a while; my head was a little better. I could think more clearly, things would file. Things made sense. This made me smile a little. Everything was going to be okay. I was still trying to remember, I tried to remember what actually happened. Everything. Ethan wasn't going to tell me...I don't think. Dorian defiantly wouldn't. While thinking I noticed my body ached. Ached badly. Everything felt tight, too...What was that? I looked down, my ribs were the worst. Lifting my top - only slightly - I saw some white material tied and knotted around my stomach and ribs. Where was that from? My shoulder hurt, too. Nothing was there though. Just something clicking...everytime I moved it. It felt funny. My leg and foot hurt, my ankle on my other foot hurt. Something was wrapped around me ankle, but not my foot.

"Yes...that will hurt." He muttered.

"Broken?"

He nodded. How had I broke it? I suppose it didn't really matter. didn't bother me that much, anway...

Nothing else was coming. It was really beginning to annoy me now. Was my mind protecting me? Protecting me from things that happened before I woke up here? Stopping me from remembering? Specifically with Mr Franco, too...Wow. That kept coming back. Was it blocking that memory forever? I suppose, if it was really bad, then it would. Do I really want to remember then?

Yes.

"Ethan..." I'd said it before I'd really thought it. He was looking at me now, so I couldn't stop. "What happened? Tell me everything."

Ethan opened his mouth exactly as Dorian came in. His words turned into a sigh, I sighed too.

Dorian came all the way in and eyed us suspiciously. He'd known nothing was happening, I was fine. He was fine. He'd read our minds most probably. Or feelings? Whichever he was listening in on...

"How is he?" Ethan asked.

Dorian didn't answer.

"He's dead." I said.

Ethan smirked at me, what was funny?

Dorian sighed.

It was just me and Ethan again. Dorian had been called out to an urgent meeting apparently. He had to work, too. Stupid work. He seemed to be in a mood though, so I wasn't that bothered. Me and Ethan were asking each other questions, it put me at a kind of peace. Relaxed me. Perhaps I could get something about what happened in there, too?

"What's the most embarrassing crush you've had?"

I felt my cheeks burn slightly. "What's a crush?"

He laughed. "Like someone you like, but don't love. Sometimes you can't explain it."

Great. Would _Dorian _be classed as a crush? He was...old. In fact, no he wasn't.

"How old is Dorian?" I asked.

Ethan shrugged. "Early thirties?" Wow... "Why? Answer my question."

I paused, feeling the burn in my cheeks increase. Ethan stared down at me laughing...then he got it.

"Oh!" He almost shouted. "Oh..._Oh." _He burst out laughing.

"Shut up!"

He still laughed. Dorian walked in, exactly the thing I didn't want to happen.

I expected him to still be scowling or something like that, either way to be in a bad mood. But he had a smirk on his face, fighting a laugh. You could see it. He looked...embaressed, too. But his cheeks hadn't redened, it was strange the way the emotion came through.

"Hello, Alice...Ethan." He nodded to both of us. His smirk turning into a huge grin.

"You're mind is quite...interesting, Ethan."

I looked at him properly for the first time since Dorian walked in...he wouldn't look at me but he seemed okay?

"Shut up, Dorian..."

Dorian raised his eyebrows. This was getting annoying. Ethan shuffled his weight uncomfortably several times before getting up with a sigh.

"You promised. Remember?" Ethan sounded annoyed now.

"Of course I remember, but I don't recall saying anything..."

"You're hinting."

"_Hinting WHAT?_" Oops.

"Told you. And now she's going to ask and ask and ask until you give in. Which you will do, and then you'll break your promise and then I'll end up killing you." Ethan whined. He sounded like a teenager again.

Dorian laughed. "Try it."

I saw him flex his muscles. Ethan laughed and rolled his sleeves up, holding his fists infront of his face. Since when was Dorian such a big kid?

"Come on then?" Ethan taunted.

Dorian flew forward and disapeared from human sight. He was just a blurry fuzz. It hurt your eyes to try and focus on the blob. Then he reapeared with Ethan in a headlock.

"That is so not fair!" Ethan shouted.

Dorian laughed, ruffled his hair and let him go. That was probably worse than punching him when it came to Ethan. Never, ever mess with his hair. He freaked out.

Dorian walked towards me with three tablets, I stared at them for a while, I was so tired...my eyes started going before he'd reached me. It had been seconds. I couldn't believe how 'awake' Ethan had managed to keep me with his everlasting questions.

Just before Dorian got to me something went crack. Very loudly. I saw Ethan's arms around Dorian's neck and his legs wrap around his body. He'd dived onto his back.

"Ow!" That was Ethan too.

"Seriously, Ethan. That was stupid."

"How was it?" Ethan's body fell from Dorian's back. When Dorian moved, I saw Ethan, his body crouched over; holding his stomach.

"Try diving onto a statue, and see if you break a rib then!" Dorian laughed.

Me and Ethan joined in. I felt my rib tug at me, too. Although, it was so tightly wrapped it barely hurt now. Most of me had stopped hurting.

"Wait until I give Alice these, she's waited long enough."

I sighed. "I had some earlier, remember?"

He shook his head and passed me the tablets with some water. He obviously did.

So I took the tablets, and lay down. Already my eyes were failing on me.

"Tired?"

I nodded, blinked and I was asleep.

**Short-ish chapter and almost pointless. I just didn't want to rush on too quickly ;) things are gonna happen in the next chapter guys, big things. I just wanted to show you Alice was okay :D Review pleaaaase (:**


	26. Chapter 26

**Two months later.**

**Alice's POV**

I didn't like these knew feelings I was getting. I kept feeling sick, and sometimes I was sick. I often had headaches, and my stomach hurt a lot. I was quite thin. Since Franco's death nobody had really bothered me, but Dorian had been taken off as my treatment person. I couldn't remember the word. But he couldn't 'treat' me anymore. Basically torture, something he'd never do. Or he never thinks he does, I don't know. Leaving me here chained up isn't pleasent, but I've been through a lot worse. Today was the day that I met my new, official, treatment-y person. You couldn't say I was looking forward to it. Nor was Dorian. He was running around my room, barely in my sight - he wasn't going that fast, but I was quite tired, and my vision had gone all funny. He said he was trying to make it look proper. In all, he was putting all the medication and empty tablets I was supposed to have had out, he'd also taken away some of my extra water and food - not that I had much to start with.

"You know Dorian, I should be dead by now..." The thought had just come to me, I'd spoke it. After saying it I realised he wouldn't be very happy...but he seemed okay. At first. Besides, it was only the truth. He shouldn't have a problem with the truth. Dorian was helping me along as I cheated my own death.

"Your not though." Was all he said.

I shrugged. There was a gentle knock on the door. Dorian took in a deep breath - it didn't look like he'd breathed out again...

"Hello?" He answered the door.

"Mr Whitton?"

Dorian nodded. "You're...Mr Cooper?"

Mr Cooper nodded, without another word he walked in, past Dorian. I saw him shudder slightly as Dorian's shoulder touched his. It was his own fault.

"Right then." He began un-doing my chains. It wasn't as much of a relief anymore when they were un-done. I'd lost more weight, and now they were quite loose. Shame they weren't loose enough for me to slip out of them...

"Now?" Dorian asked.

Mr Cooper just nodded.

"May I ask where she's going to?"

Mr Cooper laughed. "You know I shouldn't tell you that."

Dorian was quiet. Mr Cooper tested my weight, picking me up slightly from the floor by putting his hands under my arms. I must have been light enough as he lifted me all the way. What was with people and carrying me? I noticed most others needed to walk...

By the look on Dorian's face as Mr Cooper carried me out of the room meant he agreed.

* * *

"So, where are we going? I'm allowed to know, aren't I?" I asked.

He was still carrying me. It was bugging me. We'd gone outside, and inside again. Block two?

"By your record, you've had it before. But not often."

"Didn't answer my question..." I muttered.

"They were right about you." He said.

"Ha-Ha." I said, sarcastically.

He took me down a familiar corridor, then down into the last room. As soon as we went in I knew where we were. It was that place where Mr Franco electrocuted me. That weird machine thing, which shoked you and sent you dizzy.

He must have heard my panic. Was I that bad? "It's okay, I'm only testing which treatment is more effective. We won't be here long." He put me down in the chair. "You don't seem to be getting any better. The amount of treatment you've had...you should be pretty much dead - but you're not. You're not even getting better. So we're going to try and do multiple treatments at the same time, perhaps it will...do the thing."

"Kill me?"

He laughed. "Your worse than they put."

I shrugged. Calmer now. This shouldn't be...that bad.

* * *

Okay, maybe it was worse than I thought. The memories of the bee's came back. They didn't bother me too much anymore though. I was older. Now it was the pain that bugged me now. Not that it didn't bother me last time...

It _did_ shock you. It made your whole body feel like it was shaking so fast you weren't there. It was like it zapped you. It stung you. I didn't know if it was better, the way the pain was on and off, or whether it would be better if the pain was continuos. I didn't particually want to test it.

I was glad it was soon over. It still felt like my head was buzzing, but there wasn't any pain. I was glad of that.

"How are you?" He asked.

I managed to shrug. My headache came back.

"That's not an answer."

He ignored my lack of comunication and picked me up. Well done. You made me dizzy. As he walked I remembered he said 'multiple treatments'. That meant we were now going somewhere else. Great.I just wanted to go back to Dorian now. He could stop this. I know he could. If he really, really wanted to. It was fear that stopped him, and something else. Something I couldn't work out. It annoyed me. Just another question I tried to work out in the long nights. It made me feel a little more human as I felt my sanity slipping away...

I made an effort to open my eyes as I heard a door open and he changed direction to another room. As soon as I saw where we were I screamed. I didn't even mean to. I would not be here. No.

The 'bath-tub'. I hated it so much. I didn't want to. Why was he so...nasty? Why had Dorian been so reluctant...

I didn't want to be un-conscious again. It wasn't nice. Before or after. Or even days later...Ugh. Why was he doing this?

"I HATE YOU!" I screamed at him.

He ignored me.

"Put me down!"

"Alice, calm down. You're going to give yourself a heart-attack before you've even completed treatment."

"So you want me to die?"

Ignoring me again...

I never knew there were chains in here. Perhaps they'd been put in recently. I didn't know. I didn't really care. Mr cooper strapped me down into them. It was cold on the floor. The chains were different to normal, different to anything I'd ever seen. It was a chain around the hips, then one just above your knees and ones at your feet, all connected. Mr cooper didn't put the feet ones on. I didn't get why - again, I didn't care.

Now I was strapped in he took me down to just a vest top and underwear. I didn't like the way he had so much control. It bugged me.

"Are you ready?" I shrugged. I wasn't ever talking to him. I'd scream and shout, but never talk. He'd get fed-up then.

"Good." He un-strapped the chain around my waist and yanked me up. I must have been light, or he could have been very, very strong. He managed to lift me with only one hand.

* * *

As usual I was dropped down into the water, my breath whooshed out of my lungs, widning me. I felt my head it off the edge of the bath. Again. I needed to stop that happening, I was going to get brain damage. The ice jabbed into my body, it hurt. It was almost like knifes, jabbing into you over and over again. You couldn't stop them.

I struggled to get to the top, this time not being pushed down. It seemed easier than before, had I kind of mentally prepared? Or was I just used to it? I managed to get to the top and turn my self around, a mouth-ful of water poured from my open lips. I gasped in a deep breath of air, and valued the few seconds before I was pushed back under. But it never came. I couldn't turn around, I didn't bother. I hurt too much, it was too cold.

"Hmm." Was all I heard.

Then, like expected, I was thrown back under. Mr Coopers arm didn't move, it pressed down on my back. Being face down hurt a lot more. The ice stuck into your stomach, your face. My mouth opened, more and more water gushed into my mouth. It stung my throat after a while. I had to breath. I couldn't move. My head went slightly funny, it hurt and then it had an ache to it. Then everything began spinning. I knew I was going to pass out again.

Then, at the very edge, Mr coopers arm came away from my back and my body spun round. I choked on bare water, something sharp flicked on my tongue. My eyes opened, the water burnt them, then I surfaced. My eyes blinked on there own, frantically. I gasped for air, but couldn't breath, instead I choked. There was too much water on my chest. Mr coopers arms held my back up and pulled me out the water. Something black and hazy was around my vision again. I was going to pass out. Ugh.

* * *

I vaguely remember Mr cooper carrying me back. My eyes felt heavy, my body felt like a stone in itself. Everything just ached. I wanted Dorian. By the way we were walking, I think that's where we were going. Mr cooper turned off, into my room I presume. I probably looked un-conscious already.

"Always..." I kept hearing him mutter. Stupid man.

"Mr whitton?" He called once we'd gone into the room.

Please, please be here. I'd beg. I'd stay awake, and I'd hold myself up, and I'd be good. Just be here.

No answer. No cold arms took me away. Ugh!

"Take me to Ethan." I muttered.

"I'm not allowed. You will lie here. You'll be okay. Take this." He lay me down on the bed, something touched my lips. I tried to roll over, away from him, but it didn't work.

So, I was stuck with _him. _Great(!)

* * *

**Dorian's POV**

A familiar scent came into the air. I stopped dead in the middle of Alice's room. I knew the scent. What was it doing here? What was it doing here again? How had he even got here?

As soon as I stepped out the door I saw him. His eyes were half crazed, staring in several different directions in a second. I could do that, too. I could smell the blood, not just him. It was thick, scenting the air. It cut at your throat like razor blades if you focused on it. I wondered, with his eyes as vivid a red as they were, how he could cope, just standing there. It was a struggle for him, that was clear.

"Get out, James. You won't be able to cope. You know it."

He shook his head. "I've been around here a while...I'll be fine."

"Don't lie. I'd know."

"Would you?" He laughed.

I just nodded, trying to figure him out.

"You and Alice are quite...close, aren't you?"

"Why is that your buisness?"

He shrugged, one quick movement of the shoulders. Then he was next to me.

"Just wondering. I'm allowed to do that, aren't I?"

"How old are you, James?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I think I'm seven. Perhaps eight? I don't really know when I was changed. Everything was very...dark, for a long, long time. But now, now everythings bright, isn't it? It's sort of...pretty. And relationships, they're amazing, do you agree? The way a bond can just...happen like that sometimes, the way the two connect, the joy of it, like connecting the last two pieces of a puzzle...So easily it's broken though. Just a quick...snap."

Then I was understanding.

"Is that your hobby, James? Destroying people?"

"No, that's too dull...I like to add a little something to it. Just to watch. To - Well, I've said too much."

"You destroy relationships, don't you James?"

We were both silent for a while. I wondered was his talent was. Did he have one?

"Do you have a...gift?"

He shrugged. "I'm an awfully good tracker, I suppose."

"Tracker? Is that how you find us? Over and over again?"

He laughed. "You never move."

I shrugged. "So, tracking, too boring for you? You just enjoy destroying peoples lives then?"

"Well, I suppose you could say that. More...delicate relationships are exciting."

"Like?"

There was a long pause. I watched his every move as carefully as possible, evaluating each step in a second. You had to. He wasn't exactly newborn, but he couldn't be trusted. Especially where he was. Surrounded by blood, and horror. His eyes blazed a fiery red, something you should never, ever trust. You shouldn't trust vampires end of. And he was after something, too. He wouldn't put himself through this for nothing. He was after Alice. I had to work it out. Why was I being so...stupid? Ugh. It frustrated me so much when I didn't know things...

"Vampires and...humans. Vampires and Vampires. Just...stronger ties. Perhaps a bit of avenging thrown in there." A smile played on his lips again. I finally understood him, and he was after Alice. Alice and me. I had to stop him.

**Review please, guys (:**


	27. Chapter 27

**Alice's POV**

Everything was silent for a change, I lay alone, bored. I'd gotten over a majority of the 'after effects'. I wasn't that cold anymore, but my wrists hurt. I still had the scars there. They were fading, going a white, silver-ey colour. They were still visible though. Mr Franco's last act.

I'd probably been here for hours now, things were getting boring.

Finally somebody knocked on the door.

_"Come in." I called. Not able to move. _

_A man walked in, I didn't know him. I'd never met him._

_"Good. The right room." He muttered to himself, and unlocked the chains. _

* * *

_He took me to a big, empty room. Pointless? Why an empty room? But the room led into another, where people sat on big, wooden chairs. I'd never seen so many staff before, their had to be fifty of them at least, all cramped into this tiny room. I was pushed and shoved onto my own chair where he began stripping me. I began screaming._

_"Get off me! You idiot!" _

_I could see him getting angry. His face all twisted up, and his hands rougher. One of them women came behind him and tapped his shoulder, for some reason it didn't look gentle. _

_Then she started doing the same, just like that they swapped positions and she expected me not to scream just because she was doing it? _

_Ugh. _

* * *

_After the 'chaotic' beginning as the man put it, they began taking my things away from me. They took away a picture of Cynthia, from when we were little, and took my clothes, and shaved my hair, and cut and chaffed my skin, they put a number on me, like I was some kind of cattle, and threw me off the chair. I lay there for a while, just wanting to die. I saw the flames dancing, playing, burning my life away. _

I was in the chains, so I couldn't exactly answer it. I couldn't really move much. So I waited, but no-one entered.

"Come in!" I called, waiting for the man.

I heard another knock but it wasn't on my door. In the same second _my _door flew open. I recognized the face. The smile. It wasn't my vision.

Dorian came running up behind. He stopped short behind the new stranger (or was it classed as a stranger?). He followed him in carefully.

"Don't, James." Dorian warned.

So I was right. James. How was he different? What had changed? I couldn't put my finger on it...He was faster. Stronger?

He came right up to me, his hands reached out and held the chains. They just rest in his fingers for a few seconds, his hand clenched and unclenched. Only black dust was left.

Stronger. Defiantly stronger.

I felt my heart beat pick up. Damn. _Stop._ I wanted to shout at it. It shouldn't be going this fast. I didn't like his big, crazed, red eyes. They scared me.

"Calm down, Alice." Dorian began walking towards me.

"Yes." I whispered. "Trying. Not easy. Deep breathing won't help, will it?"

I knew I'd be blowing my scent, which had to be tempting to him, and I'd blow it all over his face involentarily. That sounded werid...

"No, Alice." A smile played on his lips, only for a second. James wouldn't have seen it, his eyes were fixed on me.

"Why?" He asked though.

"Well, because-" I began, but Dorian was next to me, his hand covering my mouth. He'd been over there a second ago, and now he was here. He shouldn't do that. James had moved to. Only slightly though, to my left. He was growling. It reminded me of when Dorian had growled, a while ago now, but James sounded more...vicsious? Not more angry, because I doubt anybody could have sounded more furious at the time, but it sounded almost more...animal like.

"Go." Was all Dorian said.

**James' POV**

I'd never felt this before. This ache, this burning. Of course, it had been there. For the first few years of my life I was the worst of my group, the stupid man couldn't control me. Not that it mattered. He was long dead now anyway. I used to hunt, every single day. I used to hunt several times a day. I could not be controlled, I could not stop. And now, as I finally get a grip on that raging thirst, it hits me again like a bullet. A bullet with fire, so much fire it was close to burning your fingers. I wanted to kill her so badly. Right now. But I couldn't. Dorian was in the way. Of course, I could kill him, too, but he'd distrupt me. I'd only have to do so little as to press my lips to her sweet, sweet skin and I'd be into the wall, if not through it. I couldn't allow myself to get that far. I'd have to plan it. Plan it...carefully. I had to go. Now.

**Alice's POV**

I watched, too. I could see the pain on Dorian's face, I could see the anger, frustration on James' face.

Then suddenly, he jumped up. Turned around. Dissapeared out the door. Dorian didn't follow him, although he shut his eyes, as if to focus. I shut mine too, but trying to relax. He was gone.

* * *

**One year later. Three months before Alice's 19th Birthday...**

**Alice's POV**

Rules had got stricter. Much stricter. So now, and for about the past three months, I'd been wearing chains all day. Every day. Dorian was rarely allowed time with me, and although he tried his best to ignore the new rule, he couldn't. Mr cooper was with me - a lot. Another man, Mr grathem was with me, too. Mr grathem was worse than mr cooper, I had to talk to him to. If I didn't, bad things would happen. Very bad things. I didn't risk it. If they weren't with me, another women down the ward was supposed to check every few minutes. It was ridiculous. Dorian sometimes managed to pursuade her not to, I didn't ask how. It made me feel sick from all the possibilities.

It was times like these that I _wanted _to die. It was strange, nights like these. I had to sit here, in these chains, trying to sleep. Against the cold, hard floor, too. I didn't know how they expected it. The chains were too tight, too. It hurt, but you got used to it. Along with all that, you had to listen to all the screaming. Every single scream that echoed down the corridor seemed to pierce your ears. They brought back memories, some that terrified you until you were frozen. You could sometimes here things happening, or guess from their screams, or what they were shouting. Then your imagination took hold. I didn't know whether it was worse, or better that I knew. I didn't really focus on that question before things got extreme.

And that's what I did all day. When I had nobody else. No company, no life. I pondered over questions that I'd never need in life. Like where James was right now. That one didn't actually scare me, unless I let it to, of course. James was gone was the main answer. Other questions were things like, _What's Cynthia doing? Is she okay? What's the outside world doing? How are they? Is everything still running? Have things shut down, have things opened? _And sometimes I even wondered if the war was over. I think it was, it was a long time ago now, but wars could last a long time. That flood of soldiers having to come into the asylum scared everyone, we had no room. It got...cramped. Then quite quickly, it was over. Maybe a year, two years. I don't know, something like that. When I had to go to do my work - not often now, maybe an hour, two hours a day - you could hear some of the old soldiers moaning. If they hadn't already died that is. They did die in here, personally I think they had a better chance at war than here of staying alive. But I didn't know how bad the war was. I couldn't say. They got told off for grumbling. You could hear them be hit or something nasty like that. Then some of them would go into a panic attack, and there was a loud noise and it was gone. It was times like those that I was glad it was too dark to see them. I didn't look up, just incase, all the same.

Sometimes you could sit here, when your brain had gone through every question thoroughly, and more than once, that you were silenced. That was the worst time. It was like you could feel your sanity slowly slipping away. It wasn't exactly like that, but you knew it was happening. Every second that ticked by was your life, and your sanity. Focusing on my life slipping away, to banish the thought of my current sanity, was also horrific. I'd sit there, and realise my life was wasting away. I'd done nothing, I wasn't very clever, I had no purpose to my living, I had nobody. Nowhere to go, nobody to see, no money, no friends. I didn't even know if Cynthia was still alive. What if she wasn't? What if she was buried somewhere, deep into the ground, with a big, ugly looking stone above her head reading her name and her family. What family would be on it? Me? Have they forgot about me yet...? Did father know? Or had she died, alone, afraid, her body still resting in the same place her heart stopped beating.

I pressed my hand to my chest, heard my heart-beat. It wasn't luck that my heart was still beating. It was _bad-_luck. I was too strong for this place.

Then my hands went to my hair. It was there, but short. I was glad it had grown back, I never thought it would. That vision had come true, all that time ago. It was a time, when I'd lost everything I'd ever had. Dorian was still trying to get me another picture, he said he'd been in Cynthia's house, and she was okay. But Dorian could lie. He has lied. I couldn't trust him like I thought he could, he always said that he'd never let them do this to me. He'd never let them hurt me. He said he'd look after me. He could be saying Cynthia was alive just to keep me going, I was on the edge right now. Correction - I was over the edge. I was exactly where Dorian didn't want me to be, and he couldn't do anything about it. I suppose it was weird...

There was another knock on the door. I didn't jump, didn't move. It didn't scare me, because everything was blank. It had to be Dorian.

I'm not sure whether it was because he went extremley fast, or because I'd been in 'mid-vision' that he got to me so quickly. Good question to focus on?

"How are you..?" He muttered, pretending to get out the extra medication I was supposed to be taking.

I'd think about the question later, I'd have lots of time later.

I shrugged, he wasn't facing me, but he'd seen it. He turned around and sighed. I saw the medication in his hand, he pushed it into his pocket, and left it there. Then he crouched down before me, almost smiling. I watched, wondering if I could smile. Could he help me? I tried it, but there was nothing to smile about. Dorian in front of me? I suppose, you never got used to his beauty. But now, it didn't make such a difference to me. I couldn't. It was final. My mind fought, and won, against me. What part of me even wanted that anyway? - This is what I did. Thought pointless questions, took them down to the minimum.

Dorian sighed again, I shut my eyes. His hand soothed the creases in my face, it was relaxing to have his hand there. My eye lids felt heavy again, I tried to remember when I last slept, and couldn't. I didn't want to know. Dorian had come.

"It's okay," He voice was so quiet I could barely hear it, just a breath, "You're okay. You're going to sleep Alice, sleep's good, you need sleep."

He kept repeating himself, over and over. My eyes wouldn't open now. I was sleeping...I was going to sleep.

* * *

**James' POV**

I knew this would be difficult. It didn't bother me. Difficult was fun.

Dorian was so...attatched to Alice it was like he could put a big, invisible bubble around her. Or he tried. That made me laugh. He couldn't protect her and he hated it.

I hid out here, after hunting. I was currently thinking about killing some people from the asylum, put them out of their misery? They wouldn't be fun though. With all that fear stuff already pumping in their blood. It wouldn't be the fear of me making their heart-beat accelerate, and their blood taste sweet...you could taste their fear. That made my throat burn.

I hid where ever I could. Changing, moving. It was simple. I wasn't worried about Dorian finding me, what would he do? Purple smoke, if you ever saw purple smoke you knew, especially as a vampire, what it was. You knew what was burning. It made your stomach twist, obviously it was all in your head. All in this far too genourosly spaced head of mine. Ugh.

I'd need to plan this, anyway. It shouldn't be too difficult, the hardest part would be getting fighting Dorian. He was good, he'd murder a whole city for Alice. I'm not even sure if that was an exaggeration.

I'd wrote it all, actually. I was quite pleased with my self. I'd go for them on the 19th of November. Only a matter of months from now...

**Review please guys, and thanks to 'TT' 's review. It meant a lot to know how much you were enjoying it :D Thankyou(:x**


	28. Chapter 28

**Okay guys, first off, just a little note. I'm not ending it. Defiantly not yet! :D I said I'd go all the way to the cullens, and I will. +When I do finish, I'll put a little 'The End' on it to make it final ;D Okay, so heres your next chapter, hope you like it (:**

Dorian's POV

I was tempted to run across the hallways, I knew she'd be waiting. But I wouldn't. It was too busy. And I had this weird feeling, like someone was watching me. I felt like such an idiot, nobody could be. I'd see them, orhere them, or even, I don't know? Sense them? It wasn't a long walk anyway, I kept telling myself. Not that it did much.

As I took the shortcut through the 'staff room' - although it was far from a staff room, especially now - the date caught my eye. _November 15th. _Already. When did time start getting so fast?

* * *

"Alice, Alice are you okay?"

She was curled up, the chains on her ankles pulling against her. I saw her arms, curled into her chest, and her hands into tiny fists on her kneck. Her head had fallen to the side, as if she was sleeping. But she wouldn't be able to sleep in that position, would she?

"Alice?" I ran the rest of the way to her, and pulled her arms from her chest, allowed her legs to fall down so the chains weren't so tight. She still didn't wake. My next alternative was to check her record. It was still on the table where it should be, but it had been moved slightly. Nothing a human wouldn't notice. Someone wasn't trying to make it obvious.

_Pancuronium, 5:22 p.m._

Nobody had put their name, but more followed.

_Bleeding and medication. Refused, as usual. No change._

No change. That meant they thought she was still ill. Too ill to be allowed out onto those streets, exactly where she should be. A little voice inside my head always said that she'd gone too far though now. Everything had gotten too much, I was too late. It was over, and I should stop fighting. If that voice were a real man I'd have fought him by now. It wasn't true, I wouldn't allow it to be.

Bleeding. I let my mind come back to the subject, continued to ignore that persistent little voice. I ran back over to her and checked her arms, _Why hadn't I smelt that? _Ugh. I was getting almost...immune. That worried me. Were my senses off? Impossible. I was a vampire, for crying out loud!

There wasn't any fresh blood. I was thankful for that much, and the cuts didn't look deep either. Pancuronium. That was a paralysis. A dangerous one, too. Kicks in in just over a minute and lasts hours. She'd be out. So, it was 7:30. Not much longer to wait, I suppose. It only usually lasted three hours.

* * *

Three hours exactly. She woke up at 8:22 p.m.

"Alice, are you okay?"

"What happened?" she mumbled.

"Who was it that came?" I asked.

Her head spun before me, her body tensed and then went limp. Trying not to scare myself to my own death, I pulled her chin up. Her eyes were wide open, but vacant. A vision. So soon after treatment? That was unusual.

A second later she blinked, and stared at me. "Wow."

"What is it?"

"Mr coopers coming...again."

I sighed. Mr cooper always acted...strange. He was scared of me, I knew that much. But if he was with Alice alone, he'd act like me. He'd try his hardest to pick up my every characteristic. Alice had told me, I could see it in his mind. Sometimes, if Alice had a vision and I tried my very hardest I could see him, what he actually did. No less than a minute later Mr cooper entered the room. As soon as he saw me he stopped short.

"Good evening, Mr whitton. May I, err, take Alice for her treatment?"

I shook my head. "She's had her treatment, don't you remember using the blade yourself?"

I heard his heart pick up pace, his breath came slightly heavier. I struggled not to laugh.

"And injecting her with the Pancuronium? Hmm?"

He shook his head. "That wasn't me."

"I'll think you'll find it is." I turned back to Alice and began undoing her chains. "Now, if you'll leave. Please."

I heard him go out, Alice was gazing at the door. She didn't look like she was in this world. Again.

**

* * *

**

**Alice's POV**

Dorian held me in his arms, in the corner of the room. This was the first time I'd been free from those chains in...I don't remember. Dorian kept looking at me, he looked worried. Anxious. I knew what was wrong with him. He thought, or he knew, that I'd gone mad. I'd finally become a lunatic, here was the place I belonged. I didn't think that. Or I deluded myself so much that my brain couldn't even think of that as the truth. Either one. I wasn't sure myself.

I prefered to stay in this other world. A world I'd created for myself, and only me. Sure, sometimes I'd allow Dorian to come in. But I didn't like inviting people, because _they _weren't actually there. It was all my imagination that had to do it, their imagintion didn't join in. I'd come to the conclusion, one day when I was in reality, that it was because these people weren't coming in. I just wanted them, and so my imagination bowed to it's command, and made them. They then 'entered my world'. This was a theory I'd decided. For now, I'd just let my world decide.

My world was called Adventureland. Or sometimes I'd call it Wonderland. On a good day, that is. Sometimes it was like a big, crowded forest. With over-grown flowers all multi-coloured or checkered, and some had loads of little flowers on them. Like patterns. My favourite was the _Squidge._ It was all the differnt colours, but it was like someone had thrown several differnt paint pots on a white canvas at once. It splattered and mixed. It was called the Squidge, because if you tickled it, it would throw colours all over you.

Sometimes I'd see beaches, and sometimes Cities. Sometimes it would be just grass, lots and lots of grass. I'd see flowers though, and there would be trees with food on them, and rivers that ran with fresh, blue water. There'd be no fences, and no restrictions, and nobody to tell you what to do, or when to do it. There was no ruler, or servants, and no nasty people. Most of the time I was there alone. I saw instruments, which I'd pick up, and all of a sudden I'd know how to play. I could sit on the grassy hillls, with a big, golden sun above, and read, and there would be paper and colours and ink and paint and everything I'd ever want.

This is when Dorian began worrying about me. I'd told him, about my Adventureland. I'd told him everything. Why shouldn't I? I couldn't keep such a magical place to myself, especially as he'd already visited it. He'd played a long, he'd lied to me. He said he knew exactly where and what I was on about, and that I should tell him about my other adventures. But he slipped up, I knew he'd been lying to me all along. He'd apologised, but it didn't really matter.

"Alice?"

I woke up again, snapped out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, pretending he hadn't just 'woke me up'. He'd only worry more.

But he sighed anyway. "Where did you go this time?" I noticed the way he tried to make him tone sound interested, and happy, but really you could hear his anxiety. He was terrified and no matter what he couldn't cover it. I knew him too well, anyway.

"No where." Only a small lie. "I was just thinking of all the places I have been to. If you want me to go somewhere..."

"No." He said too quickly. "Just, isn't with me good enough for you?"

I shrugged. "I can't help it now. I just...wander off." I smiled a little, he tried to return it. "Sorry..." I muttered.

He shook his head. "You're okay, Alice. Honestly."

And then he kissed me on the cheek.

* * *

**Three day's later. (November 18th) **

**Alice's POV**

I was in my Adventureland. Today I was somewhere in the countryside. I was running, barefoot, on the warm, bright green grass. There were hills, and slopes, and a big river that ran all the way around. It didn't worry me that there wasn't a bridge to go across the river, or that the river looked too deep for me to swim through. I was content here. On this grass. Besides, there was a forest to my right, I didn't know if the river ran through there, and even if it did I could climb the trees until I got across. Easy. I could see the fish dancing in the lake. They weren't normal fish, they were bright colours. Blues, and reds, and yellows, and oranges, purples and pinks and greens. Every single colour of the rainbow and more.

"Alice." Someone called.

I jumped and froze. Who was here? Nobody should be here, I hadn't let anybody in.

"Alice, is that you?" They called again.

I turned around. Ethan stood, squinting in the bright light. He was quite a way away, standing on the top of the hill I'd just ran down.

"Do you run fast on purpose?" He started running over.

I shook my head, still wondering how he could get here. Within a few seconds he was over, he was moaning I was fast?

"I'm not that good." I murmered.

He shook his head, "Better than you think?"

It was quiet for a while, he stood next to me. His arrival had blanked my entire mnd, I didn't know anything I'd planned, or why I was here. I couldn't focus on the pretty fish which were still silently swimming as my feet, I couldn't even focus on the abnormaly bright grass. I tell you, it usually caught your attention at the worst of times.

"Where are those drawings you do?" He asked.

"What drawings?"

"The ones you do. You're always drawing, you told me. Remember? You said you enjoy doing it. It takes your mind of things, and makes you happy. You drew me once, I loved that drawing, Alice." He sighed. "Actually," A long minute of fiddling in his pockets later: "Do you remember...that picture you did of us both? When we were sat, Dorian did a sketch, and then you re-did it. Mostly from memory but still...I loved it so much, and I said that no matter what I'd keep it. I promised."

He was babbling now, I didn't really mind. He passed me a folded piece of paper, it looked...old?

I unfolded it. The paper was crinkled with deep creases in it, but you could faintly see where the pencil had made shapes, where the shapes had become faces and people. It was a drawing of me and Ethan. I'd done it years ago. Maybe five or six years?

"You liked it that much?"

He shrugged. "It's the only picture I've got of me, and you."

"Why do you need a picture of me?"

Something clutched onto my back, it's arms wrapped around me chest and tightened. I couldn't breath properly.

"Alice, Alice wake up!" Someone shouted.

"Go away." I tried to kick their arms of me, I was back into reality now. So instead I kept my eyes tightly closed. Ignoring whoever was unlocking the chains on my wrists, and picking me up, and handling me roughly. "I said, go away!"

"Alice, wake up!"

I opened my eye reluctantly, it was Dorian.

"You're hurting me." I moaned.

"Sorry." He sounded annoyed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Nothing really, I'm over reacting. Where were you?"

"What are you over reacting about?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"I...I thought I saw or heard James, I'm not sure. It's nothing, really..."

**Review please guys (: **


	29. Chapter 29

**Alice's POV**

**November 19th, 1923.**

Dorian was...anxious. Everytime my eyes shut, he woke me. He'd made me whisper, and told me 'not to move a lot'. I didn't get why. He was anxious about James, obviously. But me not moving, or speaking loudy wouldn't make a difference. He was a vampire, vampires had better hearing, and they could smell and they had speed and strenght. According to Dorian. I don't think he was lying about that.

It had just gone 7pm when Dorian's body tensed, he undid my chains quickly, and picked me up. I was cold already, and his freezing body didn't help.

I could see him, thinking about something. Thinking long, and hard.

**Dorian's POV**

I could hear his every thought, almost as though he was screaming at them. I could smell him, he was so close, although I didn't know exactly where. It bothered me. My mind kept flicking over image after image, trying to figure something out. Something would actually be nice. He was being difficult, purposley distracting me. I couldn't even focus correctly.

The one thing I tried to think of was Alice. Actually, it felt like she took over a majority of my head. How did I protect her? He was coming for her, he wanted to kill her, and that's all he kept showing me now. Him. Killing her. Different ways, numerous ways. Over and over again. Replaying it in such detail, that if I couldn't feel her living body, and hear her accelerated heart beat, I'd think she really was dead. She'd gone. I was worried about her being cold, but that part was so tiny, I could ignore it. I needed her right now, and besides, James could attack any minute. He'd shown me his preferable plan already.

"Dorian..." He called. Outside. He was outside.

I kept perfectly still, holding Alice. I wasn't leaving her, the exact thing he wanted me to do. Again, he showed me another image. One of him coming here. Just plan B.

Wihtin a few seconds he was outside the door. "Come on Dorian, you're not being fun." He sounded like a child, a child not getting his own way.

I heard him contradicting himself in his head: _Is he? It would be more fun with a fight, I could fight him, then kill Alice? Or, if he just moved, I could go along with plan A and kill Alice infront of Dorian. That would be good. I'd have to try and do that._

"Ugh. You're sick, did you know that?"

His head popped round the door, stared at me for a few seconds, then began walking towards us. "Actually, I feel fine."

"You're not funny, either."

"I didn't say that...? Anyway, you're changing the subject. How are you?"

I glared at him. Alice's heartbeat accelerated.

"Hmm, I think...I think I'm going to scare her first. Petrify her until her body's frozen, or...or she's shaking. Then I'll go along with it. They always taste sweeter when they're scared, did you know that Dorian?"

"I don't make it a hobby." I said through my teeth.

James laughed.

"You're pretty Alice," He commented. "Shame really...Not fair though."

"How?" She whispered.

James smiled, obviously pleased he was getting somewhere.

"Well, Dorian is a very old vampire, Alice. You know that. Don't you think it's unfair, everything he's been able to do over the years. The amount of people he's loved, and met. The girls he loved, and they loved him, too. He's had the time to have everything he wants, everything he needs. Whereas me, I'm only just...starting out. I haven't got anybody, anything. I find it unfair he has you, such a pretty young woman."

"Don't listen to him, Alice."

She stared up at me. "He's telling the truth though, isn't he?"

"No."

James laughed. "I am, Alice."

"And that's why you want to _kill her._"

Her heartbeat increased even more.

"Oh, now you've done it. Well done, Dorian. This could have been fun." He sighed.

"Spoilt your little secret?" I teased.

He shook his head. "Just...sped things up a little."

**Alice's POV**

I couldn't breath properly, my chest was all tight. I could feel my heart bashing against my chest.

"Calm down, Alice." Dorian muttered.

James was pacing back and forth, back and forth. Then he looked to us, and back to the door and ran out.

I just stared at Dorian. "What is he doing?" I asked.

Dorian shook his head. "JAMES, DON'T!" He screamed down the hall, and pressed his hands on each of my ears.

It didn't help much though, there were screams, all the way down the hall. Single screams and then silence.

"Oh." I whispered.

"James, STOP." Dorian ordered.

There was complete silence, I wondered what had happened. Had he actually listened to Dorian? No, the screaming continued. But they kept screaming, all of them.

**James' POV**

The look on their faces as walked in was funny, they stared, like an angel had just walked into the room. Then I'd grab them by the kneck, and drag them up. Several at a time, I threw them out into the hall. I heard their bodies crash together, most lived. When the hole corridor was emptied, I went out, and stood infront of the huddle of children. Each one looked terryified. Some were even shaking.

Dorian was already stood outside Alice's room, Alice was still sat securley in his arms. Safe. I still couldn't get to her, but this should do it. Dorian wouldn't let so many die.

"Your choice." I said. "These children die, or you give me Alice."

Dorian shook his head. "You wouldn't."

"Do not doubt me, Dorian. I would destroy every single person in this hell of an asylum, and you know it."

Then he shut up. I saw it in his face. I saw that little part of him that was going to let every person here die, and just because he wouldn't let me have Alice. How stupid could he get? One girl over thousands? You could see the way he was torn in two on wanting to protect Alice so badly, and wanting to protect so many meaningless human lives.

**Dorian's POV**

I knew what I'd have to do. And I knew how I'd effect her whole life. But I couldn't leave her to be left, to be killed slowly, and painfully. For both of us to die. I stroked across her kneck, almost feeling the warm, fast running blood beneath her skin. Kneck or wrist? Kneck would be too obvious. My hand slid down her arm, and caught her wrist. I lifted it.

"You honestly want to know, what I'd do in this situation?" I asked. I spoke each word slowly, watching his reaction closly. He was still entirley oblivious.

As if in slow motion he nodded.

I leant down and pressed me lips to Alice's wrist. I was aware of staff standing on the outside of the doors, great big huddles of them all the way down the staircase just to try and see what was going on. They were furth enough away for their lives to be spared. They'd never know a difference, and right now, I didn't care if the Volturi found out about me. If one of them did see, and the Volturi found out, I would basically ask them to kill me. It would be their pleasure. James was frozen in his place, I knew that. I could read his every thought, almost everything he ever thought I was focusing so hard. My lips parted until my teeth were brushing against her cold skin. I noticed Ethan stood, closest to us before I pressed down, only lightly. It split through her skin, like a knife would to butter, I tasted her blood. The first human blood in years. My whole throat burst into flames, and soothed all at the same time. James was right. She was scared. Her blood did taste differnent. It tasted sweeter...fresher? I had a hard time letting go. Every single part of my brain screamed to carry on, it wouldn't allow me to let go.

The only way I stopped, was when James knocked her out of my arms. Or threw me across the room, sending Alice out of my arms. I wasn't sure which he'd done, my whole body was still recovering. All the children, the helpless children, stood in little groups across that black wall now seemed more appealing than ever. I wanted more.

"You idiot!" James shouted, walking over to me. I was only relieved he'd left Alice.

I got up, faster than I knew he could, and began backing out. The nearest window to me was down the first flight of stairs, I had to go through everyone of them. Their scents hit me, one by one, the only thing that seemed to stand out was their pulsing veins, and beating hearts. When we were finally to the bottom, I simply jumped backwards. The glass shattered under my force, and I dropped, quite gracefully, to the floor below. Of course, James followed me.

"What are you going to do now? Hmm?" I taunted him. "Relationship broken. Are you going to kill me? Finish things off?"

"Exactly my plans." He said through his teeth.

"Do it then." I ordered.

**Alice's POV (From the bite)**

Just before his lips parted, I knew what he was about to do. I guessed it. And I was right. Sharp teeth pushed down onto my skin, but that didn't hurt. It felt like having a needle. There was a sharp, pinching kind of pain, and then it felt like a freezing liquid was injected into your veins. You could feel in, going in. That's when it started to hurt. Dorian was thrown across the room, I landed where we were.

The cold liquid felt like it turned to a flame, a quick flame. But it didn't feel like it was burning. Not yet. It felt like I was being put under the sun, on a hot summers day. I shut my eyes and tried to imagine that.

"Alice?" Who was that? "Alice, Oh Lord. Alice?"

"Ethan?" I muttered under my breath. My eyes fluttered open.

"Hello." He smiled, sheepishly.

Then he picked me up, his hands felt surprisingly cool. He took me into my room, and rested me down.

"You're going to be okay." He whispered. "Dorian will come back, I know he will. He did this for a reason, he know's you're going to be okay."

Somehow I couldn't believe him.

I shut my eyes again and tried to imagine lying in the warm sun, but now it was getting too hot. It started to burn me, I wasn't under the warm sun anymore. The sun had been brought too close to me, it was consuming me in red hot flames.

I forced myself not to scream, tried to persuade myself I'd been through worse, but my brain was convinced it wasn't true. I wanted to go back to Adventureland, to live their forever, that would work. But it was like it had never existed, my brain was only focused on flames, on burning. But somewhere, I managed to conjure every single thing someone had ever done to me. Every emotional torment, every physical agony, every verbal threat. I centered them all into one box, and then let them all out. I tried to imagine it in my head. As soon as they were freed, the burning felt like it was cooling a bit. Not literally, just in my head. _Literally_ it was just getting worse. After that box had burst, the pain didn't seem so much anymore. I could cope. I just didn't know how long for.

* * *

**James' POV**

I wasn't going to waste time, I wasn't going to stand here and watch him taunt me until he won the battle. No matter what my brain was telling me, to have the fun, to taunt him, to keep him going - I'd ignore it. I had to. I was going to kill him, to follow what that tiny, boxed part of my brain was saying. I was going to kill him straight, and then go to Alice.

As I approached him, he didn't back away. He didn't appear scared, or threatened. It was almost like he was just stood their, waiting for death. Waiting for me to kill him, like he deserverd whatever he got.

I was just going to do it then. He did deserve it. He deserved everything he got.

**Alice's POV**

I had to keep remembering everything I'd been through, although it wasn't hard. Everything was so vivid, like watching a play before your eyes. The pain was no more than I'd already been through, which surprised me.

**1 Hours later...**

I'd heard the cry of agony from outside. In an instant, I knew what it was. I'd managed to pull myself up. It was like I was dragging along tones of bricks, but I'd got there. I was happy at that. When I was up there, I tried to pull across the thick curtains, and blinds, but they wouldn't budge. A fireball hit my chest, and I fell down again. With me, the curtains ripped and I could see outside, although I didn't really care right now.

All I could do was look up, from here, I could see the purple tinged smoke.

At that point, I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry, and to shout, and to force my body outside to rip James apart piece by piece. But I didn't. I couldn't. Although the pain wasn't unbearable, or at least not yet, I could not go and attack James, when he could be the one that was dead. Dorian could come through the door any minute, he'd smile at me, and apologise. I'd shake my head, and smile back. I'd go through whatever Dorian had put to me, and come out at the end of it alive and well, and me and Dorian would be happy.

My mind disagreed. It angered me. If I could make up a whole imaginary world why couldn't it believe that one little possibility. I wanted to die.

* * *

**72 Hours later**

Now the pain was getting unbearable, it was like I had been put in a burning furnace, held to the door, and left their, left to die.

Now, the cold liquid, which had so quickly turned into a sea of flames, was licking it's way up my veins, going from my finger tips, my toes, and all the way up my chest. The fire turned into acid, it stung, but slowly made my arms feel weightless, almost like they didn't exist at all. I was thankful for the sudden relief, I took several deep breaths. I tried to calm, but soon, the acid and the flames joined, they attacked my chest. My heartbeat started to pick up, it sped ahead of it's self, thumping against my tight ribcage.

The fire grew smaller and smaller, centering itself into my heart. It waited there, for what seemed like another forever. I wondered how long this would last for, my brain wouldn't even function right now.

* * *

**74 Hours later**

My breathing got heavier, my heartbeat going to fast, I thought it was going to punch through my chest. It hurt, ached, like it was pushing something so much thicker than my own blood out. I was glad before, that now the only pain was in my chest, my heart. At the time, I could focus away from it. Now I couldn't, I had to endure it. My mind would work now, I could imagine other things. Worse things. These helped.

For some reason, I felt like I was nearing the end. I felt different, I felt stronger already. I was beginning to be able to smell things that I couldn't smell before. Dust and dirt had a smell. I could smell something else to, something fresh. Grass? Was that grass? I could hear things I couldn't before, although they weren't clear yet. They were murmers and mumbles. I tried to see, to use my visions, but they wouldn't work right. It was a fuzzy blur, everything was. Just...blank. It hurt my head to think.

A few minutes later my heart started to jump, to miss beats, and stumble over itself. _Bu-bum...bu-bu...bu-bum. _Sort of like a different pattern. Then I realised I could hear it. I could hear my own heartbeat. Or was I deluding myself? It was still hitting so hard against my ribcage I could just think I could hear it, really, it was just a feeling.

I listened harder, I could hear other things. I _could_ hear the exact beat of my heart, and the other people talking. Why shouldn't I be abl to hear my heart, too?

Suddenly the beat faltered again, it stuttered one last time.

_Bu-dum...du-du-du..._Silence.

**Hope you liked it (: Review please.**


	30. Chapter 30

**For people who asked, If I can, I will go up to breaking dawn. That'll be a lenghty story though, just so you know (: If you want me to, give me a review and say, or mail me, and I'll give it my best shot (: Thanks for all the reviews, too :D**

**Alice's POV**

My eyes opened.

First, I could smell. That sense seemed to come before any other. I could smell everything. The grass, the grass had it's own scent. I could smell something old, almost like a rusty smell, and something like...like dust? Was it dust? I didn't know. It irritated your nostrils. The other thing I could smell was...appealing. Hard to explain. It was like I did want it, but something was...off.

Then when I really looked around, I could see. See _everything. _It had been raining, little water droplets still stuck to the dirty grass, I could see them clearly, as if they were beneath a microscope. In them, I could see reflections, and little streaks of colours of light. On the building, if I focused, I could actually see the dust, the filth.

Then it caught my attention. What is that building? Where am I? I got up, a little quicker than I expected possible, although I didn't need to steady myself, or feel imbalanced. It felt completley normal, except once again, it was like it was...off. Like this wasn't _normal. _I shouldn't be able to do this, although I'd never known any different.

I thought about going into the building. Just for a second, that's all it took for every possible situation that could happen to go through my mind. I stared at the doors, and all of a sudden I was in front of them. I was entering the building, but I hadn't moved. The girl walked around, and then it just cut off. I blinked a few times - once again, it didn't feel right. I was still stood in front of the building. I hadn't moved an inch forwards, and that I was sure of. I was one hundred percent, because with only my eyes, I could work out distances to the last...millimetre. I double checked that.

Another thing I noticed, I was perfectly still. As still as the statue, that was completley new to me, and stood a few foot away. I could be as still as that statue, I didn't need to blink, or to breath. They were...un-necassary to me. I only had to stop for less than a minute though, and I was uncomfortable. I felt defensive, almost like I was ready to pounce. My body and brain went into a different a mode. A mode ready to attack at any point. All because I was missing a few senses. In the end I had to take a long, deep breath, as if my lungs had been deprived of air for too long. I blinked a few times, and focused again on the huge building before me. I realised I'd been stood here longer than planned.

I looked around one last time, as if to double check. There was no reason to though, I was confident, purely by scent that I was safe. So I slowly walked into the building. Well, it wasn't that slow. But it _felt _slow. My muscles practically ached, like they wanted to burst through my arms and attack anything in their path. Was I that strong? I got to the nearest door, reached out, and took an edge of it, just between my finger and thumb. I gently squeezed, gradually getting harder. With only minimal force, the wood turned to dust.

In a way, it made me want to laugh. I wasn't sure why. Perhaps the power I knew I had.

Then my brain fought against me. That was merely wood. Wood was just trees, easy things. Anybody could knock them down, right? I looked around, seeing a high, sturdy looking chair in the distance. I didn't think about what it was, or why it was there. But I saw the big and thick metal chains on the arms, legs, and tip. I ran over. It took me _less _than a second. I wasn't even sure how that worked.

Once again, with only my finger and thumb, I squeezed. The metal turned to dust. It smelt, too. I could smell the individual scent of everything.

I breathed in a big breath of fresh air, something tightened my throat. It began burning. I couldn't _stop _the breathing then. I _had _to smell that. Whatever it was. It burnt my throat, something thick watered in my mouth, but somehow, it was pleasent at the same time as painful. It coated my teeth, my tongue, it made the burn in the back of my throat set a light. It tasted almost like...something acidic. My head snapped to the side, and I focused only on where that smell was coming from. It was like my brain and my body were attatched, but _I_ wasn't attatched to either. I couldn't control myself. I realised I was moving. Faster than I'd ever moved before until I came to the pinpoint. I could see it. And smell it. And hear it's faint, tiny breaths.

My heart throbbed silently. I reached my hand up, and no beat was there. I stopped. Was I dead? I could not be alive, and have no heartbeat. For some reason, my brain assured me of that.

"Please." Another scent washed into the air, it took my mind of everything.

The scent swirled around my head, sticking and grabbing onto everything it could get it's hands on and destroying it. The scent touched my throat and seized it. Pulled on it, and tightened it. Burnt it until it felt like it must be black with ash. I could not control myself as I moved forwards. The aching in my heart had totally disapeared. I did not see a small, human boy before me. A boy who was pale white, blood drained from his face. The blood in his arms instead, leaking from his arms. And his kneck. And his ankles, and thighs, and chest. Everywhere. He was covered in a liquid claret sheet. None of it bothered me, like that tiny 0.1 percent of my brain said it should.

My lips brushed his kneck, I felt him flinch beneath me. The smell got stronger and stronger, the burning worse and worse. I could see the source of what I wanted, exactly beneath my lips. It was his blood that called out to me so distinctly. I wanted it. I needed it.

I could hear him whimpering beneath me. "Do it." He whispered.

That scent again. It attacked my throat, left a sweet taste on my tongue. Before I could stop myself, my lips had parted, and I'd sunk my teeth into his soft skin.

I didn't think it would be so easy. His skin so soft, so breakable. I could hear his heart beneath my hand, slowing down. He had running blood. I didn't. He had a heart beat. I didn't. He was something different to me. And the first word that came to my head, was _Mortal. _

I tried not to think about it too much, only to focus on his blood. The sweet blood pouring into my mouth, soothing the burn in my mouth, my throat.

It was only a few seconds before I'd drained his whole body. I backed away, still tasting his blood in my mouth. Still feeling it dripping from the edges, and coating my lips. It was on my clothing, too. I looked down, quickly, trying to ignore the murder I'd just commited.

I was only in a vest top, with an old, much to big for me, un-buttoned shirt. My only other clothing was a pair of ripped denim shorts. I didn't remember putting these on. I didn't feel cold, or hot. The weather outside looked cold, I had no idea of the date. Me wearing shorts and a thin shirt was not enough, in merely the logical sense, to keep me warm on such a day. I realised I knew a lot. For some reason, it just came to me. Perhaps because I knew that it was cold. How did I even know what cold was?

I thought back, just a quick memory jogger. I could see all the way back until I first opened my eyes, I could see it like I was there right this second. But any where before was like it didn't exist. This upset me. Worried me. It felt wrong not to be able to see something. To get something I wanted. Everything I needed and wanted had been given to me so far. It had been given to me in basic, and even more. It was horrible not to get the thing I wanted now.

I had no memory of anything.

This really dug in at me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, smelling something new. It distracted me.

I could smell a similar scent to the one I'd just smelt. It was much better though. My throat, despite the fact that I'd just given it the thing it wanted, burnt on as I smelt this. I had to run to it again. I couldn't stop myself.

I'd come to a dead end. Just a window, and then two doors to my side. But the smell was _here._ I smelt again, just to make sure. Yes. Here. Another thing I couldn't have. Ugh. This was _so _annoying. Savagely I began ripping at the bare wall, I smashed the glass, and kicked down the doors. The smell was getting stronger. Better. It was tightening my throat so much I was surprised I could breath. It burnt so strong, so dominant and fiery it felt like my throat should just be a small pile of ash. Dust.

Finally I got there. Someone was literally hiding in the wall. Like they knew a way there. A hiding place. It was a man. Young. His hair was quite long, just above his shoulders, and slightly wavy. It was a dark brown colour, matching his fear struck eyes. Both staring up at me, it some kind of shock, fear, and...love? Worry was there, too. I felt like I knew him, like I'd seen him before, but no memory came. No name came to the face, either.

"Alice." He whispered. "It's you. Alice."

I stopped, slightly shocked. "Alice?" I asked. Was that my name? I'd never heard my voice before. I only realized that when I spoke. It was high, and clear. Like the sound of a musical note. Beautiful. I couldn't deny it.

"Yes. Alice. You are Mary Alice Brandon. Do you not remember?"

I shook my head. Who was Mary Alice Brandon?

"But you don't like being called Mary. Remember? You like being called Alice."

I hadn't felt danger from this man before. I didn't know who he was, but it didn't make him a threat. My body, my brain had not told me to take precaution. But now, as he spoke and told me facts about myself that I didn't think I knew. It shook me. My body started becoming a little more ready, a little more prepared to act. It must have sensed, before I'd even noticed myself, that somehting was wrong here. My body had switched it's position ever so slightly, he didn't appear to have even noticed. My senses picked up a little more, I forced myself to become more aware somehow. It came instinctivly. To protect myself. Warily, I asked, "How do you know so much about me?"

He chuckled, only very quietly. When he looked up to me again, the laughter stopped. "I'm Ethan. Do you not remember me? Do you not remember anything?"

I tried a search for the name 'Ethan'. Ethan who? What was he to me? How had I met him? I wanted to ask so many questions, but the burning grew stronger in my throat. The grip on my control slipped that little bit more. Ethan noticed it this time. He noticed my movement.

"You're newborn." He whispered. "That's what they call you. You're going to be okay, but you need to control yourself, Alice. You want to kill me, don't you. It's my blood. But you don't have to, Alice. Honest. Just stop."

I couldn't stop. His voice became more hysterical as I leaned forward. He kept telling me to stop, until my body was crouched down over him, my lips touching his kneck only lightly, I pressed a little harder.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying not to watch that pulsing, claret red in his kneck. In the vein in his beautiful, white kneck.

"I'm Ethan. You knew me from the asylum. You liked me...a lot."

"Asylum?"

"Here." Was all he got out, before his voice broke. Fear.

My teeth were touching his kneck. They were so close, only having to add that tiny amount of pressure. Then his blood would flow into my mouth. Sooth my throat. Fill me.

"Go on then." He said. "Do it. Do it now."

I wanted to. But it felt wrong. He was supposed to be my friend, and he could help me. What good would it do, me killing him?

But then the picutre changed again. His heart beat got heavier, faster, stronger. His breathing more rapid. I couldn't control anything I now did. And he was lay only inches beneath me. If that. He was no longer the mortal, the defenseless man. Now he was my prey. What I needed to survive. My lips bit down into his skin, like putting a knife to butter, and the blood was soaking my mouth, coating my teeth, trickling down my throat.

I could hear him, just for a second. I heard his cries. But they died out, like his voice was loosing strength. His breathing got shallower, like he was struggling. I felt his tense body beneath me, under my hand as I pushed him further down into the brick, the wall. Slowly he loosened. His whole body weakened until the burn in my throat was barely noticable. I could only feel the pleasure from feeding from his blood, no longer the annoyance of trying to stop that burn. To stop the animal within me. The animal that I un-doubtably was.

"Okay, Alice." His voice was little more than a breath, but I could hear it. Strange. "Stop..."

I couldn't. I couldn't even pay attention to his face anymore, his body. His movement and speech was nothing to me. The only thing I felt was his pulse, his breath on my face.

A few seconds later, his heart began to falter. His breathing raspy, his skin gradually loosing any colour it had. "Alice," He whispered. "I..."

And then it was silent. There was nothing left of his blood, I'd commited another murder to what was my friend. A friend who could have helped me, loved me. Cared for me and stopped me harming people. He said he could. He promised me. And I threw it all back into his face.

I was a murderer. I couldn't stop. Even now, my throat hurt. I'd drained two human beings and I was still hungry. Or thirsty...It was thirst more than hunger. Although it made me feel full, it was a _thirst. _Like being dry, extremly dry, and so the burning came. Then you soothed it, and it just turned into a dull ache.

I slowly began walking away, slightly ashamed. More upset with my self, annoyed. I tried my hardest to ignore the burn every time I passed another door, but it was inevitable. I had to. So almost every room I went past, I attacked. Some of them were already dead. I realised that was what smelled off. Dead blood wasn't as nice, but I still _tried _it. It tast as good, and it took longer for the ache in my throat to sooth, but it was...edible? Would that be the correct word to use? I drank, and I drank, and I drank, until it felt like I could burst. I drank until I was so bloated, I was surprised I didn't feel sick. Even then there was still a dull aching in my throat, but as I passed the bodies, I could cope with it.

I continued to walk until I'd gone up two flights of stairs, and down the dead end of a seperate, thin, brick corridor. I looked down from the window, there was another building. How did I get there? I focused on it again, tried to imagine what would happen. I asked myself the question over and over, and again that vision happened.

I saw myself walking backwards, and then running for the window. The window shattered at my impact, and I landed down to the bottom so gracefully, it was as if I'd simply stepped forwards. My balance, my posture - perfect. As soon as I snapped out of it, I knew I hadn't moved. But at first, it was almost disorientating.

I got over it, focused, and began walking backwards. When I ran, it was more of a jog. I wasn't _hesitant _but I didn't want to go at the speed I knew was possible for me. I felt like I'd break the window and the wall surrounding it. I only jumped, a quick, simple jump. It didn't feel like I'd put any pressure into it, but I went flying through the window. It smashed and turned into a million tiny pieces around me, and then I landed. All in the same second. Like in my vision, I landed perfectly. I didn't feel off balance, nothing around me fuzzed, which basic physics laws said it should. Everything stayed perfectly clear. Something was still wrong, but in another way, it was right. This was all I knew, all I could remember. But I was something different to those _humans. _I was a blood drinker, a murderer.

This didn't bother me as much as it should. Although I could still feel, just that tiny bit inside of me, that remorse for killing, murdering. It wasn't as much as that majority inside of me said it should be.

I tried to unfocus of this. There was enough space inside of my head to fit a million things or more. Instead, I focused on the building before me. I didn't know what it was. Another building, connected someway? I could smell something, something dominant on the doorway. Something that stood out over the basic smell of the grass, the plants, the dust and dirt. Something more than the long gone smell of passing humans, as it still lingered. It was the smell of someone else, _something _else. It plastered the doorway, the steps, and as I entered, it was there too. Something banged. Footsteps. I froze. Literally. My breathing, my blinking, it barely made a sound. I stopped doing either for a second. Then I realised it was completley irrational. I could do this. I began breathing again, but not once did I blink. I knew that I could go at the speed of...the speed of light? And that could happen in the blink of a second. I wasn't going to miss, to suffer an attack of this...thing. This person.

**Sorry it took a long time, as you know, computers broke :( Dad's allowed me to use his laptop though, but I need to convince him how many of you are actually reading this. So you REALLY have to review this time guys, REALLY! **


	31. Chapter 31

**Somebody on review gave me the idea of twisting a few things, I'm going to ... sort of. So if you get slightly confused, don't worry. You shouldn't do, it's fairly simple. Just don't think 'That wasn't mentioned when I read what happened to Alice'. Because then you definatley WILL confuse yourself (: Also, THANKYOU for the reviews(: That caused a laugh, I also told him the 'Story Traffic' and such. It all turned out to be funny, but I won't go into detail. You're waiting for your new chapter and I'm just babbling on like there's no tomorrow...right. Shut up. **

**Alice's POV**

I edged forwards, maybe a few centimetres, just so I could see either side of the corridor. Nobody - yet - was in sight. I kept looking, my head flicking back and forth about ten times in less than a second. When I was stood in the middle of the corridor, and nobody was there, I stopped. I took another deep breath, just for a little help. The footsteps were getting louder.

"Hello?" Someone spoke. Their voice was quiet, but clear, and...perfect. I hadn't heard many voices so far, but comparing this voice with Ethan's, it was heaven. More like melting honey, and soft velvet rather than the raspy, edgy talk. The difference was so...distinct. I forced myself to remember that Ethan was terrified, and dying at the time I was speaking to him. Because of me...They didn't sound scared.

"Hello." I whispered. I heard my voice again, it took me back.

"Who's there?" The man asked. "Name yourself." His voice was edging on frantic now. I wondered what had made that change. How I had scared him, if it was me, by just saying a simple hello. Was it my voice? Was it as different to them, as it was to me?

I wondered whether to name myself Alice. That's what that boy said my name was, but how did I know it was true? How did I know he was being trueful?

"Name yourself." The man demanded.

I paused, just remembering the perfect sound of his voice. Repeating it in my head. "Umm, Alice." The first time I'd hesitated in my speech. It didn't feel right.

I smelt again, but that strange, foreign scent was no longer there. I listened, but I couldn't hear footsteps like I could before. Coming towards me. They'd dissapeared.

I ran along the hallways, searching. But nobody was there. I ended up on the top floor, the highest I could get and yet I still wanted to go further. I leaned on the window, feeling no need to breath heavily. Once again, it was like I should. I ignored it all. I shouldn't let this 'you should be..' mess with my head anymore. As I searched the grounds I saw someone running, they didn't seem to be going very fast, but I was starting to doubt myself. I thought about going to run after them, but they'd already passed the gate and were heading across one of the huge surrounding fields. I remembered his scent the best I could, then made a note of what he was wearing. A worn suit, of green-grey colour. A belt wrapped around his waist. From behind I could see his long, honey coloured hair.

When I stepped back from the window I saw my relfection. The first things I was drawn to were my eyes. I wondered for a second if it was where the light had gone strange, or where it had reflected at the wrong angle. When there wasn't any visible light source, I thought maybe it was something in the pane of glass. But as I wiped, nothing came away. They were bright red, so vivid they looked like blood themselves. They stood out against my pale, un-blemished skin. I looked to the rest of my body, my legs, my hands, my wrists...I noticed a scar. No other scars, or even marks touched my skin except this one. It was a cresent shape, shining against my skin. So...visible. It bugged me. How many more people were going to see that. I didn't want them to. I was...perfect. And that scar ruined it.

I looked away, away from the window. Away from everything. My throat was still burning away, I needed to sort that. I needed to find human blood.

* * *

There weren't many human bodies left in the asylum. Not live ones anyway, and that's all I cared about. Most of them were un-conscious. Not aware I was finishing them off.

After I'd...finished I felt bloated. But the burning was still there. I walked out of the building, began running out the high gate, and over the vast fields. I needed to find life. Live people.

* * *

It took me less than five minutes to find life. I stood on the top of a hill, the grass invisible from the white sheet covering it. Something about it screamed cold, but I was fine. I wasn't cold or warm. The sheet was just a normal temperature to me. The place below was fairly big, houses lining the streets and few people walking along, dressed in thick clothes. A few others were sat on the street. The people in thick clothing stared down on them, and hurried past. The people on the street weren't dressed well. Some were shaking un-controlobly, others were were just still figures, curled up on the floor. They were pale. I figured they were dead already.

For a second, I was taken a-back by how far I could see, and how clearly I could see it. But once again I tried to ignore that part of my brain, trying to tell me that what I was doing was wrong. How could it be wrong? It was all I'd ever known!

As I began descending the hill and entering the town the smell of human blood hit me. My throat set on fire, and my body froze. For some mad reason, I allowed myself to take in the scent. Allowed it to torture me until I started running, faster than I'd ever ran before towards the town. Then another scene found it's way into my vision. I wasn't sure if I had stopped, or not. All I could see was a girl running, a girl who looked a little too much like me. She ran all the way to the town, and then it went blank. Things started coming in more of a photographic way. I saw myself somewhere underground. Surrounded by people just like me, people with red eyes, and pale faces. They stared at me, I was knelt to the floor. All I could see was from the back. All I _saw _was somebody holding me. When the vision turned, I saw my face. Then I must have stopped, no matter what. Fear gripped me, though I wasn't sure if it was fear from the vision or the fear for real. It cut at me, and paralysed me. My red eyes were round, and cold. My skin had gone a powdery texture, and blood coated my mouth, and clothes. I was wearing the same clothes I was wearing this second, except the colours had faded, and been replaced my red. The middle member of three came up to me, his hands held my jaw firmly, angrily. But his face showed different. It was like he was interested in something. _Fascinated. _

I was cut out of the vision, my body was frozen. Then as soon as I'd recovered, I started moving again. I couldn't stop myself. Those people in my vision didn't hurt me. Nothing could go wrong.

* * *

It was dark in the town, most people had gone in now. Anybody out seemed to be trying to get home. Quickly. I started with the people on the street. People looked down on them, they were already starving. Already dying.

"Hello." One of them smiled at me like I was an angel. A glowing light in their dull world. "Are you h-here t-to help m-me?" He asked. Still staring at my face.

I looked around, aware of people looking out their curtains. I'd have to move him, but my throat was on fire. So I began dragging him, keeping my throat inches from his kneck. Inches from that blood. I knew I'd have to break, and I knew it would be soon.

I hadn't got to the end of the street before my teeth had sunk into his neck. He was still smiling as his life slipped away. When I looked back up nobody was watching. I moved to the next man along the street, he was already dead. The blood tasted too thin, watery and wrong. I kept moving until every body on the street had been drained, and buried. As far as I knew, nobody had seen me.

**Really sorry about the wait. I was stupid, and ended up getting grounded for two weeks. How pathetic is that :/ Anyway, I know this is short, and doesn't contain too much, but hopefully it's worth it. I was just showing the start of where her visions began guiding her. Jasper might just accidently-on-purpose pop up soon...**

**REVIEW :D**


	32. Chapter 32

As morning started to dawn I realised, again, what I'd done. I'd killed. Murdered. Now though, it didn't bother me so much. Every part of me was made to kill. I was _supposed _to kill. It was why that I didn't know.

I walked down a few streets. Nobody was awake yet, or at least, nobody had opened their curtains. No lights had been turned on inside the houses, nobody had come outside. It would have been quiet if I couldn't hear everything within miles. I wished it could be quiet. I could concentrate properly, and not have this burning in the back of my throat. I could think of other things except my raging thirst. Of course, I'd accepted I was a killer. It was built into me. The people, if they were alive, looked up to me, as if they were seeing a bright light. Like I was the most amazing thing they'd ever seen. The most beautiful. And that I could not doubt. I was beautiful. All those _humans _had flaws, but I didn't. I couldn't see one. My teeth, sharp as razors could sink into their skin. So soft, so easy. More like just a cover than a protection. I noticed also how slow these humans ran, how they walked almost everywhere. It was almost annoying. The memory of the man that had tried to run from me flooded my mind. He'd been just sat there, on a bench. Picking leaves of the nearest tree, he reached up, and dropped, reached up, and dropped. It was too tempting as I saw his arm rise, from behind the green I could see the blood pulsing so quickly...And he tried running. And I laughed. The memory, although I thought it should have, didn't repulse me. I could look back on it and want to smile as he ran. Knowing that as he ran, I'd let him. Knowing as soon as he was out of breath, I'd go, and I'd pounce. And I did. It took me little more than three seconds. And then there was strength. I remember being able to pinch through wood, through metal with the tiniest of pressure. I wondered if that worked for anything, but never tried it. There would be time for that. I think, at least. Anything else about me, that helped me, was so far un-detectable. I didn't know it was there, but I knew, somehow, I'd have the time to find out.

But one thing that did scare me was my visions. Every time my thirst over ruled, and I could gladly go into the houses, and kill every last family member, my visions came of the people in black robes. They were all pale, like me. Their eyes a vivid colour of red, and there were three of them. Three that I kept clearly seeing anyway. I knew there were people around me, but they were a blur. An un-nerving blur, as I wasn't used to anything being out of focus. The middle man, of average height with long, dark hair, sits in the middle. This is the man that comes up to me, he smiles, and holds my face as if trying to be affectionate, and then his face twists with the strangest emotion. Going from smug, to shocked, to fascinated. The two men that sat either side of him stared, shocked. The one man, always sat down, with short blonde hair looks the most angered. And the other, another man with long dark hair just looks confused. The man, or woman, behind me grips me tighter. He speaks, but I can't understand, and then his hands are around my neck. The man before me shakes his head, and when the other doesn't let go, he growls. The pressure on my neck disappears. But the whole image changes, and all of a sudden, I'm terrified. So scared, that with the simplest touch I'll jump. I didn't want to be like that. I didn't want to have to go to those people.

I was trying to find somewhere to hide, a basement, or an abandoned building. Just somewhere I could call my home, because I didn't have one. Not that I knew of anyway. I kept walking, never tiring, never getting bored, or fed-up. Searching didn't bother me. As I went past houses, I checked them. I checked if anybody lived there, or when the last person had walked in.

It took me just over ten minutes to find a house. The last person to walk through the door had been so long ago, that the scent was barely there. It must have been months. The front lawn was slightly over-grown, but nothing that looked un-tidy – surprisingly. As I got to the door, I checked again. I checked nobody was in there, that nobody was watching me, and that nobody had stepped through this door in weeks. All was clear. The door came open a little too easily. One of the hinges was broken. There was glass all over the floor, shattered frames from pictures. I passed them, checking the house before going through details. I was beginning to doubt myself more and more. The kitchen was thin, and long. Dried blood covered one of the surfaces, but the effect on my throat wasn't too bad. The blood had been there so long. The back window was open, and blood was spattered in little dots on the screen, it reflected me, and I saw the way the red dot's matched my eyes. I looked away quickly. Hair was locked around the door handle, and several of the cupboards broken; more glass covered the floor. I walked out and into the room opposite. The living room. It was a little cleaner. The seats were in their places; the portraits on the walls; the log burner in the corner. The only discomfort was blood covered chess pieces scattered onto the floor. The board was missing. A patch of blood started in the far corner, a little bigger than a human head. It spread out until it went under a table. Most of the rooms were the same. The upstairs rooms had no blood in, no shattered glass; no broken frames and ripped up pictures. It was almost pristine except for a thick layer of dust. There were three bedrooms. One was a little girls room – pink duvet, pink curtains, little jewellery boxes on the sides, a dressing table, and various dress up items. The other was very basic, but the wallpaper had been stripped down, like something had been there once. A single bed was on the far wall, facing the door, there were pink curtains, and an old, worn dresser. It was obviously a girls once, but something had happened. The other room looked older. A double bed was against the window, wardrobes on either side, and small tables on either side of the bed.

I checked inside the draws of the bed side tables, first on the left side. Nothing was on the top other than a candle with about two inches left in it, the first draw held nothing either, but the bottom draw had cloths, and socks. I reached in, rummaging through until I found something un-ordinary. My hand came across it on my first sweep. A cylinder of metal. I picked it up, confusion and curiosity over-whelming me. It was a gun. Why did this person need a gun? Did every one need a gun? Did everyone have one? I fiddled with it for a few seconds, pressing the trigger very lightly. I didn't actually want to shoot myself, but it was tempting. Would it hurt me? I picked at it until I couldn't help myself, I pointed down to my foot and pulled down on the trigger.

Nothing much happened; it merely bounced off my foot. It didn't even hurt. I put the gun back in its place, knowing I would not need it, and a little disappointed at it. With no more drawers, I went to the table on the other side of the bed. On top was a candle, barely used. A small, folded cloth lay next to it. A loosed photograph, split into three was also on the table. I picked up a piece of the of the photograph; all you could see were hands, wrapped around an infant, no older than two or three. I picked up another piece, where a woman's face was smiling, and her arms down. She was the one holding the baby. Her other arm was leaning to the right though. I picked up the last piece and matched them all together. It was a woman, with her baby, and another little girl of about seven or eight. Her hair was long with pale skin, and long, shiny chestnut coloured hair. She was smiling, just like her mother; even the baby smiled. They must have been a happy family.

I put the picture back down and looked in the drawers. There was nothing un-usual. Just more pictures filed in a little album at the bottom. I didn't bother looking at them. I had a quick look through the wardrobes, but they were empty. Everything was as it should be. I figured this could be my home, if nowhere else could. This had to do.

I lay down on the double bed, looking around aimlessly and thinking. The burning in my throat had settled down, but not by much. It was still there. Always there. I'd given up on trying to get rid of it now, I don't think you could.

"Hello." I said, to myself. I just wanted to hear my voice. I looked around for a mirror, but there wasn't one in here. I got up, sighing quietly, and walked into the room next door. The girl's room. The dresser was worn still, but I could see my reflection easily. I swept the dust away for a clearer picture, and ended up wiping the dust of the whole thing. The mirror, the little table, the chair. I sat down, smiling to myself. I wasn't sure why I was happy, maybe this room? It made me smile. I hadn't done that much yet.

"Hello." I said again, waving to myself stupidly. The reflection waved back of course, and smiled, embarrassed, though my cheeks didn't redden, almost like I expected them to.

I got back up, deciding this was pointless. I wasn't sure why I'd come in the first place. Talking to your reflection was a bad sign. As I turned though I noticed a little mark in the wood. I looked back; the rest of the wood was fine-perfect. I ran my fingers over the grooves marked into the wood: _MB&CB. _I paused, trying for a second to work out what the letters meant. Whether they were initials of the people who had lived here, or something much different, I couldn't work out. There weren't really any more clues.

Disappointed, yet again, I walked back to the other room. I wasn't necessarily bored, but I wanted something to find. Or discover. Something to interest me.

When sat on the bed again in the bigger room I saw the photo on the side. It caught my attention as two girls, and their mother. It had been two initials written on the wood, hadn't it? _They might not have been initials. _I told myself firmly, before my brain could look any deeper. But something about it was bugging me, and I ended up getting the album out of the bottom cupboard.

Surprisingly, a lot of the pictures were drawings. Only few, possibly my favourites, were actually made from film. I picked them out and placed them in order on the bed, staring for a few seconds before working them all out.

The first was of four people, all dressed formally, each looking fairly wealthy. I looked down on myself, to the old shirt and vest, and ripped shorts and changed my outlook. They were quite wealthy indeed. The man and women stood next to each other, their hands joined. The woman looked uncomfortable, and the man looked grumpy, but in some way content. The little girl sat on a stool, coming just under her mother's waist. Her hair appeared long, but I couldn't be sure, it was tied back. It was dark, like her older sisters. Their smiles seeming to brighten the whole photograph, and make up for their mother and father's negative looks. The youngest was about four, and the older ten, give or take a year.

Other photographs were similar. One of the two girls, one of the mother and father, two singulars. As I came to those, it was the younger girls I saw first. Her hair was down, and I was correct about it being long. It came just above her tiny elbows, parted through the middle and in all, quite messy. The little girl didn't seem to mind at all. She wasn't grinning like she was in the other, showing her teeth. In this she was smiling politely, it made her look extremely beautiful, even through the black and white frame. Her hands, resting on her lap, were holding a little chain, with a locket on the end. It hung by her legs, un-noticeable. On the back was written _Cynthia Brandon 1909, aged four years. _

I looked to the next picture before checking the others. This one was ripped in half, and I wanted to know why. Mashing the two pieces together you could see a little girl. She was clearly older than her sister, but somehow her features looked younger. The girls' could have been identical, for like her sister her hair was long, and dark, flowing down her back and resting on her shoulders. This girl too was beautiful, and she too held a locket, hanging down by her legs. Trying my hardest to keep them together I glanced at the back. Luckily, it too had writing. _Mary Brandon 1909, aged nine years. _Was on one side, and the other side of the tear said, _Last photo. _

I stared, confused. Why was that the last photo taken of her? What happened afterwards?

I tried to get answers from the writing on the others, but it only said the girls' names. _Cynthia and Mary, 1909. _Always. It didn't say one other thing. Why was the photo ripped?

Frustrated, I packed the photos into a pile and shoved them back into the album. All the other pictures fell out, all the drawings. Three others fell out behind that, smaller than the rest and tucked in between the drawings. I picked them out, curious as to why they were hidden. On the first was a picture of the woman, the mother. She was holding in her arms a tiny baby, wrapped in blankets. On the back it said, _Alice, 1901, I love you. _

The other was of an older girl again, I wasn't sure of her age. The two girls' looked so alike, that I couldn't tell if this was the older sister, or the younger sister. Whether they were grown up or not. I checked the back, where it said _Mary, 1914. _I worked out she could only be nine, and yet she looked about thirteen. Her hair was long, shining through the black and white, and curling into ringlets down her back. She smiled still at the camera, although now she looked uncomfortable, her smile looked fake. You could tell she did not want to be there, and yet she was being forced. Forced to smile. Forced to be happy because she had no other choice. For some reason, though I never even knew the girl, I felt sorry for her. I picked up the third, and dropped it in the same moment. I didn't want to see it, but my eyes stayed fixed on the fragile face. Dark circles lay under her eyes, cut's and scratches covered her face, and her hair was a mess of knots down her shoulders. That was all you could see, except the way the photo reflected the light, making her look extremely pale. I doubted that was the camera. After a few minutes I managed to look away. After I'd noticed the beaten state of the young girl in the photograph. After I'd noticed the smudges where water had dropped – or tears. After I felt my heart should be beating through my chest, and I felt sick.

I put all the photos away, in a hurry, and rested back onto the bed. I didn't want to go out, I didn't want to search the house, I didn't want to investigate on why the kitchen looked like somebody had trashed it, or people had brutally fought there. I didn't want to do all the things I'd wanted to do before. I didn't even particularly want to be here now, but I stayed. I had nowhere else to go. So I lay there, my only option left, fighting the increasing burn in my throat fairly easily. I guessed it was because the amount I'd drunk. _I'll find a new home tomorrow, _I thought to myself. But another voice echoed behind, _You'll find out what happened tomorrow, Alice. You have to. _

**Realised...? REVIEW PLEASE :Dx**


	33. Chapter 33

**Okay, I know this is going to sound or be weird, but I REALLY wanted to do this. Like, I've been fighting the urge for a very long time, and so I just need to do it. This is going to be a little bit (maybe half a chapter at the most) in Cynthia's POV. Just to explain a little on what Alice is going to find out, or for what ever purpose (; Then it'll be Alice again, and back to normal. I hope you like it though, tell me what you think (: Also, thankyou for my reviews. You make me smile. (Like always :D) +So just a big thankyou to everyone that does. **

**Cynthia's POV**

I was careful as I walked back to the abandoned house. I was careful that nobody saw me, that I didn't trip, or harm myself. If I ripped my dress Auntie May wouldn't be very happy; I'd probably end up getting beaten.

The door was loose on it's hinges, the way it had been left when mothers body was carried from the reckage. A stabbing pain punched my chest and stopped me. I took several deep breaths, forcing the image of mothers dead, pale and cold body out of my head. Now was not the time to be remembering her, and that image was not appropriate for my young mind anyway. Uncle Oscar had said himself. He said I shouldn't be thinking about Lily like that. He said it was wrong. I was too young at fourteen. I wondered when I would be old enough, and they'd allow me to lose my train of thought. To go back to those days, when I was a mere seven years of age, and my world was torn apart. The age I was when Alice was ripped away from us, from me. I came back with mother, she'd been worried when Alice had ran away from them. I wasn't sure why she'd done it, I couldn't remember. My last image of her was when she was being carried out of the town. Me and mother were too far away, but we saw. We saw the man's hand crash into Alice's face, and then she fell to the floor. Mother screamed, and began running. I followed her, but neither of us got anywhere near by the time they'd thrown her into the carriage, and began down the road. Mother didn't move for a while then. She collapsed onto the floor, her shoulders shaking from her tears, and cries echoing down the street. I'd huddled up next to her, trying to rise her, trying to get her into the house, but she wouldn't move. I wasn't strong enough and I didn't understand. Neighbours started coming from their houses, and staring down at the figure, curled up on the cold ground. Or that's what it felt like. It hadn't long been Alice's birthday, so it was spring, soon summer, and yet the scene suddenly felt cold. Freezing. Soon, the people went back inside. Darkness had overcome the light, and I stayed, barely able to see, by mothers side. Waiting. Waiting for Alice to return, but she never.

I fought the urge to slap myself. Why I'd let that memory come back I did not know. It was stupid. Tears fell down my cheeks in tiny rivers. I forced myself to remember the purpose I was here. To find those pictures of me and Alice. More importantly to find the letter. The letter that mother had got, about three months after Alice had disapeared, it had a photograph attached to it. I wanted to look at it, and to read the letter. I wanted to know why Alice had been taken, for nobody had told me still, and I wanted to know why they would send a picture. Surely, Alice was coming home soon. It had been so long already. But mother refused to show me anything, tell me anything. But I'd seen her crying. Over the tiny photograph, I'd seen her crying. She'd curled up, and-

_Stop. _I told myself, as nicely as I could. My tears became faster, and heavier. I hurried through the house, constantly wiping my eyes so I could see where I was going. I ran all the way up to mothers room before stopping dead. The sight of it causing my eyes to flood further. The memory more. I felt my way to the bed, felt the soft fabric and sat there. The day mother died. I was nine.

Without control, the memory replayed itself in my mind. The morning they woke me up, because of all the shouting. Father was screaming things at her, and his fist kept hitting of the side. Mother was crying, telling him to quieten down. Telling him that he was going to wake me up again, that he'd scare me. I kept as quiet as I could until I heard mother stumbling out of the room, her words muffled by her sobs. I couldn't help but running out. I had to, to see if she was okay. This was becoming more and more frequent, and I couldn't have ignored it anymore. I couldn't hide in my room and wait for it all to blow over, and father to storm out of the house and once again leave; run down to mother and tend to her injury's. Another memory: mother and father had fought, well before Alice had left, we were only tiny. The pictures and small clips that ran through my mind weren't exactly clear; but I remembered screaming, and crying, and I ran outside for help. I ran all the way down the street before Alice had caught me, she was crying too, but she said I shouldn't tell. It would make them take us away, make them take mother away. That's when I'd learnt.

By the time I'd walked out of my bedroom and onto the landing, mother was curled into a ball on the foot of the stairs. Glittering streams ran down her pale face, her hair had been pulled out, and lay stranded on her shoulders, and down her back. Bruises from another day still protruded from her skin, and cuts, on the verge of healing, had been ripped open again so blood poured from the gaping wounds. Slowly, an ice like feeling starting in my toes, and ran all the way up my legs, down my arms, past my neck. It froze me in my place, leaving me to watch as he pulled her back up by her hair, screaming words at her I did not understand, cussing at her; saying she was useless, an annoyance, good for nothing. I tried to find my voice as she dangled in mid air by only her hair. Her frame was so tiny, and so delicate that I feared it was going to break the second he dropped her. I wanted to tell her he was lying, and not to be fooled. That I loved her. But nothing would work. I got so angry at myself stood there, so angry at him as his hand released, and she dropped. The first feeling came back into my feet, my arms started to move again just in time for her to grab her ankle. She stopped, got hurled back, and her head crashed of the step. I screamed out, begging, but it was like he couldn't hear me, like I wasn't there. Mother heard me, she cried harder, and I was thankful she wasn't un-conscious. I decided to be quiet from then on though, it was hurting mother more. He picked her up again and dropped her, this time for good. My legs moved without my command I went flying down the stairs with her, but by the time we'd got to the bottom I was stood up. I could look over her still, motionless body, sprawled out onto the floor. Dad came storming downstairs, a look of disapointment on his face; then stormed out, tears welling in his eyes.

By the time I'd come back to reality I was lay down on the bed, my eyes shut tightly still trying to wash leftover visions from my mind. I opened them quickly, suddenly in a rush to find the photo and be gone. Auntie May would wonder where I was anyway, I only said I was popping to the shop for her, and she lived about ten minutes away from the shop. Mother was another ten minutes from the shop. I'd ran all the way here, it took my just under fifteen minutes, and I still had to run all the way back. If they even thought I'd ran they'd come looking, and this is the first place I'd go. Uncle said I was a very damaged little girl, that I liked to return to my horrors. He'd got this from my night terrors, and my other nightmares. How could I control my dreams? It was much more difficult than it looked, and personally, I thought I was doing quite well. I was starting to be able to wake myself up, but still I had to wait for the cold, drained body of my mother. I'd wait and watch, frozen until the picture came and I'd force myself up, screaming.

I knew where she kept the pictures, they were _always _in the wardrobe. There were two layers of wood, and if you pushed the top to the side, and pulled with all your strength up, then you'd get to them. They'd be there. She'd hidden them since father started ripping up the pictures of 'Mary'.

I picked them out and sorted through them, seeing the last pictures of me and Alice. The pictures of mother. But nowhere was the one I wanted, nor the letter, nor the drawings Alice had done before she'd left. I flipped the book angrily, shaking it in an attempt to force anything out, but nothing did. I began flicking through the pages slowly, one by tiny one until I heard my worst fears.

_"Cynthia!" _Aunt May. She knew. She knew. She knew! _"Cynthia." _She said more calmly, still a distance away. _"You're being silly. Come home now, that building is...is un-stable. Please, Cynthia. Come home." _

Aunt May didn't like coming to the house. She didn't like seeing it. She didn't like going into it. She didn't even like going in the same street as it, and would avoid it at every cost. If she thought I was here, she'd bring Uncle Oscar. I know she would_. _But I still rushed. My head already started feeling like it was whirring, and I went dizzy.

I dived back to my knees on the floor, rummaging through each drawer, then through the wardrobe, trying to put everything back neatly. If I could get out on time I could run back round the other way, it would be longer, but at least I could say I didn't come to the house. I could say...I'd make something up on the way. Or cry. Crying worked quite well, as long as Uncle Oscar wasn't there. _Think about it when it happens, Cynthia! _I told myself, and went back to rummaging. It took me a while, as they were crammed right down in the bottom, in the corner of the wardrobe. But they were there. I stared for a few seconds, from the drawings of Alice's, to the ripped picture of the three of us, to the tiny picture that mother never wanted me to see.

I understood why as I was frozen to the spot, tears welling in my eyes, but not blurring the horrific image from my view. I thought I'd started shaking, but I couldn't be sure. I dropped back down onto my knees.

Somebody's hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me up, "Cynthia, what have you done? Come here, come here," Aunt May soothed. She pulled me into her lap like I was little again and took the pictures from my fingers. I was shaking, and silent tears were running with great speed down my face. I tried to shake the image away, but I couldn't. "Cynthia, you shouldn't have gone looking. I told you, didn't I? You're going to get yourself very ill Cynthia, very ill." Her voice had an edge of anger, but I could hear her trying to hide it. She rocked me back and forth, her tears falling into my hair. She looked clearly at the images, and the rocking ceased. "Why on earth were you looking at _that _Cynthia? Why does your mother even have a picture? Oh dear -" She struggled to keep her breathing, I kept trying to apologise under my breath. She placed me down on the bed and started moving things around. I wasn't sure where things were going, I struggled to tell her she had to hide them again, incase father came back. But she just shook her head and said he wouldn't be coming near this place again. He wouldn't be coming here at all. Ever. He wouldn't be going many places. I didn't ask what she meant.

* * *

**Alice's POV**

It took a while for me to move my legs. Somehow they felt unsteady, it felt un-nerving to be this way. The first light had dawned again a long time ago, but I hadn't wanted to move. Although I did not sleep, what I did was as good as. Lying there I seemed to go into a completley different state, I was totally relaxed.

As soon as I'd stood up I felt fine, my muscles felt slightly tensed beneath me. Tighter than they should be in my tiny arms, but it didn't feel _wrong. _I didn't put too much thought into why. This person, someone I didn't even know yet, had a lot of little secrets. I wish she'd just learn, and hurry up and tell me. I'd like her a lot more then.

Not even looking in the mirror I headed downstairs, I was going to take a direct route to the door. Nothing would distract me. I wouldn't allow it. I would walk straight to the door, looking only at the door, and as soon as I was out of it I would keep running.

Of course, that didn't go to plan.

I was so close to the door, so close to getting out of here completley and forcing my mind to forget when the kitchen drew me in. The smell of it, the reck of a state that it was. _I'll just check quickly,_ I told myself. _Come to a very simple conclusion, and get out of here. I was not breaking any rules. _

"Hello." I called as usual. I knew very well that no one was here. It sounded pompous, but I liked the sound of my own voice.

"_Helloooooooo._" I called again and again, no answer, obviously.

I walked around the kitchen, wiping across the surfaces and trying to work out how long ago this house really was lived in. It was hard to tell, but it must have been months. The blood covering the surfaces, I knew, should smell disgusting. And I'd admit, that it did not smell pleasant, but the smell couldn't be _disgusting. _I didn't know why, and it was quite annoying that it would not smell foul. It should. I knew it should.

I stared around the kitchen for a few hours, sometimes popping into the room opposite, and back again. It was strangely interesting, just stood here trying to work this out. I must have been doing it hours before a noise caught my attention. I hadn't been paying that much attention to my senses, though they were there, and always a large part of me. It was just a bang, a very quiet one at that.

I twisted round to the sound, and it banged again. This time much closer.

"Alice Brandon?" A voice asked.

I stopped turning towards the noise. I was finally scared. One part of my brain kept shouting at me to confront the person, while the other said run. So I was stuck exactly where I was, not moving, not speaking.

"Miss Brandon?" They repeated.

A low growl escaped my lips, warning them away. I started moving backwards, knowing the door was onlya few steps away.

I heard someone beginning to run, and ran myself. I doubted I would be faster than them, but I ran nonetheless. I smashed the door down rather than stepping through it politely, and kept running until I'd reached a large, empty field, hundreds of miles away.

**GUYS! I'm SO sorry this took so long. Really. I've had major writers block. I've been doing a tiny bit every single day until I've literally collapsed in front of my computer. It was that bad. (Not actually passed out btw...don't want you getting the wrong idea) ;) **

**I'm sorry if the end seemed a bit block-ish, if you know what I mean. I tried, but I knew you had to be getting impatient by now. And even if you weren't, I wanted to get it out. **

**Please review. PLEASE(: **


	34. Chapter 34

**Thankyou for the encouragment last chapter, I really thought I'd messed that one up. Here, like a few of you asked, we'll find out who keeps looking for Alice :D It's going off from the book slightly, but not really, because nobody ever really mentioned this. This could have happened, and just not have come up ;) It wouldn't sound...good if they said this, because it's sort of creepy. The whole 'following you' thing. Don't you agree? Anyway, I'm going to get started, because otherwise, I'll give too much away, and then I won't be able to shut up :)**

**(Third Person)**

He heard the clatter of the door, and ran, ran past it and followed the small girl up the street. It was his only duty at the moment. There was no fighting. They had so much land already. His one and only duty to collect her, and though his body fought against him, for he did not like the feeling of rounding people together like a herd of animals (even if we were vampires, and had traits such as animals), he still followed his orders. He always had, and he always would.

"Have you got her? You know what she said, she said she couldn't have people running around the streets like this. We'll get punished."

He turned around to face the vampire, not too much younger than himself, it was known he would be taken away sometime. He'd be the one getting punished.

"Jasper, are you listening to me? _We need to get her." _

_

* * *

_

**Alice's POV**

I had no idea who had been at the house. I didn't know if was the same person I'd seen a few days ago, or if it was just some innocent child wandering into the house. But how had they known her name? Why didn't they smell apealing? Like every other person that she met did. They were merely a threat. A threat she'd told herself she'd been prepared for, but acted so much differently when it happened.

I shook my head, trying to clear the images and sat down on the grass beneath me. Though I could see no-one, or anything, I could hear everything. The carriages, the factories, event the footsteps.

I sat for quite a while, just listening; calming my body down. Whoever it was hadn't chased me this far, but right now, I didn't care. The burn in my throat had come back all of a sudden. _It never went. _My brain seemed to mutter to me. I told myself I wasn't going mad, I was just lonely. That's why I was hearing voices.

And I was lonely. I didn't like being alone, something told me I never had. It brought a strange feeling to me, and upset me. I was missing someone. Or something.

I continued to sit on the empty, vast fields, suddenly feeling very bored. It was like air had blown through my head and blown away every one of my problems. I smiled to myself, and without telling myself to, I stood up. I started walking down a steep hill, quite slowly, then began to run, and run. I kept running. I didn't know why. I kept telling myself to stop, but nothing happened. Like taking a photograph, an image shot into my mind of a diner.

In the next second, I was sat back down on the hard floor. It seemed quite a shock, for one second to be looking at the old, shabby diner, and the next, to be sat here again. Somewhere. Somewhere where? That was a confusing question.

Then I realised nothing had changed. I'd had a vision again. Stupid. I should really learn to control those.

I replayed the vision in my mind: The running, and the flash of a diner. It wasn't clear, and almost blurred. It was small, seeming to be on a corner. The lettering was black against white, and curly. People bustled in and out, I noticed, when I looked a little closer. The seat's inside were also black and white, but the surface of the counter was a bright, blood red.

The burn in my throat shot up again, I swallowed hard to try and remove it, but it didn't budge. I'd have to go 'hunting' again, and try and find this diner.

* * *

**20 years later (1943)**

I pulled myself into the tight space, perfectly still against the cold. The other people walked along the road, passing me, their bodies shaking as they pulled clothes around themselves tighter. A man, holding a young girls hand, walked past. He pulled his coat around him and tucked his chin into it until his nose was fully covered.

I stared as each one past. The burn in my ignited, and blazed, leaving a horrible, sand-paper like feeling in my throat. I forced myself not to move. Though I was a monster, a term I'd fully accepted now, I couldn't kill a little girls father. That must have happened to me; from what I'd learnt, everybody had a father. Of course, I couldn't find mine. He must have been killed, too.

Every single day I wished I had somebody. The same vision re-peated in my head, but barely allowed any clues. Having no real needs, other than blood (which could quite easily be found, because every place she'd passed so far had had some kind of human in it), it was easy to travel. So all I did, day in, day out, was run. Of course, it wasn't the nicest thing to do. And too much happened inbetween. Often, I'd get thirsty from nowhere, and I wouldn't be able to control myself. Someone would be passing, and I'd attack. Other times, If I'd been travelling through the forest for a long while (which I seemed to be doing more and more recently) I'd come out somewhere very public. I wouldn't be able to help attacking someone, then someone would see. I'd be frozen for less than a second in the terrifying image of the three men, all in black robes, with pale faces, and vivid red eyes, and I'd have to kill everybody and anybody who saw. It satisfyed me more than I'd like it to at times.

* * *

After dark had fallen I crept out from where I was sat. The street's were deserted, so I casually walked along, staring up at the high buildings and buzzing lights.

Noises came from a few streets away after I'd been walking for a few minutes, I turned the other way, though my throat protested, only to be brought closer to another pair of quick, scared footsteps. Too close, I couldn't help the instant reaction, and ran towards the sound. Eagerly, I crashed into the body, knocking them to the ground - and unconcsious - and finished them off before they could wake.

* * *

**End of the winter : 1948**

I noticed the sign on my way past, _Philadelphia. _

I did not know how far I had travelled since I began, I didn't really care. Right now, I was having the most amazing feeling. Like something was...right. Something was finally fitting together and it kept my running faster than I ever had before.

The wind brushed against my face, but didn't make me shiver like I knew it should. 'Knew its' didn't bother me anymore though.

As I got further into the city I found a small, empty house where I stayed. I didn't particularly like it, though darkness was..._52 minutes away. _

And they passed very quickly.

* * *

The moon sat quite high in the sky before I came out from the house. I needed to go hunting, too, and I prefered to do this discreetly, liking to pick who and when to kill, and not allowing the vicious animal inside of me to choose. In other words: Anybody.

Light's were beginning to flick off in the tall, glassy buildings, and houses flickered out into empty, cold shadows on the edge of streets. I ran along, breathing deeply, allowing the animal inside me to attack at my throat, knowing it would die down soon.

After a few minutes, I came to where I wanted to be. The house was tall, and grand. I looked around, not quite realising how far I'd come. I was off the street, though I'd known that a while ago, and far down a dirt path. I'd never seen anything much like this. One light was left on at the end, lighting up the golden fountain before the house. I stared for a few seconds, as it was exceptionally beautiful, though so basic (only a round pool, with one, high, swirrling pillar where the water was spurting).

Drawn back to reality by the ache in my throat, I jogged into the house silently, and crept up to the un-expecting mortal. It was merely for the fun that I tip-toed, and when the man jumped, and shivered at my contact, I laughed.

It was a fun game. A one-sided, cruel game, I thougt afterwards. But I knew it was necassary. I could not deny the enjoyment I gained from it.

Until morning dawned I walked the streets, it didn't feel too nice, but I did it regardless. I only walked in when the first sounds of slamming doors announced people's awareness, and it took me less than a minute to find somehwhere to lie low.

As usual, these were my less than fun day's. I definitley did not enjoy sitting in a deserted house, or being crouched down into a hole somewhere. But the images of the white people in black robes were beginning to come more frequently, and their red eyes bored further - it seemed - into me.

* * *

I didn't really know how long it had been before the clouds made a permenant appearence in the sky. It darkened slightly, and once I was sure the sun would not make any show in the sky again, I snuck out from my cramped hole and walked the streets similar to any other person that day.

I was wary, keeping my head to the ground and avoiding heavy, or gathered footsteps. I tried my very hardest to ignore any lookers, or get distracted in anyway, until a group of teenage girls ran around the corner laughing and screaming. Two of the girls wore a denim dress: The sleeves were wide, but did not go over the shoulder, and the kneck came buttoned to the top. All of the dresses pulled in at the waist with a V. The others dresses were similar, I stared down on my clothing; managing to cover the blood, but still being dirty, and the clothing crumpled.

When they turned to walk this way their eyes, and expressions, were covered due to a large pair of white framed sunglasses.

That was it.

* * *

By the next morning I was very, very pleased with myself.

The clouds masked the skies once more, but having vivid, blood coloured eyes meant I had to where them anyway. My sunglasses.

I'd sort of accidently on purpose stole a new shirt, and tee, replacing my dirty, bloodied ones (I was tempted to get the dress, but the shirt attracted me more). I stole a pair of sunglasses, framed with white like the others, and a pair of shoes. I didn't particularly want them, but everyone wore them.

Before I'd been walking for long, another vision replaced my sight:

All I could see was the back of a man's head...He was tall, muscular, but lean, with honey blonde hair to shoulders length. He never turned, but continued to search. It was as though I was an invisible presence walking behind him.

I almost had to force myself out of it. It was very boring. I knew I'd have to gain control over these visions.

But, as usual, the vision clouded my mind again. It was all and everything I could see, but it was different.

_I was sat. In a diner. A _diner.

That was it.

As soon as I snapped back out of my vision again, I whacked into something hard. It didn't hurt, but made me blink a few times before I realised what was actually going on.

I was stood outside my vision.

**Sorry! Has it been a week? Almost anyway. I'm SO sorry. I'm just...busy lately. Only way I can put it. I'm really going to try though. I will try to get on the same pattern-thing I was on last time. Please Review (:**


	35. Chapter 35

**First off I'd like to apologise - again. I'm being a really crap author right now and I'm really sorry. I say to you that I'm going to go back to my pattern, and I get myself banned from my pc for a week. You could call it typical ¬¬**

**Anyway, I'm really going to try. My very, very hardest. Because I don't want to dissapoint you again. Hope you enjoy (:**

I'd been waiting a long time. And by a long time, I mean two weeks and three days.

I stared at the door unnecassarily, removing my sunglasses. My eyes were dark already, and I was getting more stares with them on, the weather outside was terrible. They'd gone a cloudly kind of black, not yet the coal black I'd seen once in my vision, but lighter. I stared in the reflection of the shiny work top. Stared at myself with a slight vain. I couldn't help it, and by the looks of, nor could everybody else that entered the diner.

I continued to wait, but nobody came. I started to feel uncomfortable being in the diner, surrounded by people with blood pumping through their bodies, and being so thirsty. It often made my mouth water, and I didn't breath properly. I didn't _want _to hunt though. The thought of it still made me feel bad. I knew it always had, but this just made it feel even worse. I don't know what had made that click, but it was there, and I couldn't help but feel guitly as another human walked in or out the diner, unaware, someone I could have killed a relative of, or worse, could be kill_ing _in the future. Still, it made no difference to the way the flames scolded my throat. I'd been trusting my visions for a while too long, looking and checking, making sure I wasn't going to attack. For this, I was grateful. These strange flashes were becoming useful. By now, I was sure, that without them, I'd be with the people in hooded cloaks. People, like me, who I was still to know the name of. I might even go looking for them...

I snapped out of my reverie, taken over by another of my visions. It started with seeing the back of the gentleman again. _That _vision was starting to annoy me. Then it changed, flashed into another picture of a destroyed and damaged diner. Hundreds of spectators stood grouping round-

Somehow, I knew I had caused what happened to that diner.

Sighing, I lifted myself from my seat and walked out from the diner, knowing the weather for the next few days was going to be terrible anyway, I decided to fill myself quite thoroughly. I'd take my time.

* * *

By the time I got back to the diner two days had passed. I'd spent a lot of the second day just wandering around, exploring and chasing a scent that smelt particularly appetising whenever I felt like it. Being able to lift a tree from the ground, or a car, or anything I wanted for that matter, made it very easy to get away with doing absolutley everything I want. Including murder.

I walked back to the diner and slouched down in my usual place. A few people stared at me, and the lady who worked here watched my movements for a few seconds, deep thought and confusion on her face. I ignore her, looking back down on the worktop, the sunglasses covering my eyes.

* * *

A few days later more visions came. Different visions. I was thankful of them not being of the cloaked figures again, this time, they were what seemed to be a family. It was loose flashes, but secure at the same time. I was determined.

There was one older man, still in his early twenties though, with honey blonde hair, a pale face, and golden eyes. I stared, unnerved, at the eyes. How had they become that colour? Before I could focus for too long though, another face came, as if he was walking into the room. His hair was red-ish brown, and untidy, like the person in my other visions, he was slim, but muscular. His eyes were also gold, yet he looked quite unhappy, his eyes slightly darker, and casting a look out of a far window onto the forests every now and then. As if the person was turning, the vision spun round to another group of people. One exeptionally beautiful, her eyes almost black, staring longingly outside. A man sat next to her, huge with muscles, and short, curly dark hair. He smiled at the girl, lovingly, his eyes an amber like colour. Finally, another woman walked into the room. Also beautiful, but somehow not making it to the blonde's unbeatable complexion. Her hair was caramel coloured, flowing in loose curls to the bottom of her back. I smiled at the arrangement. They somehow looked whole.

"Carlisle," The woman with caramel coloured hair called.

The blonde man looked up, smiling, "Yes?"

"I think Rosalie's getting impatient again." she said with a smirk.

Carlisle looked over and nodded.

"Can't we all go?" The brawny man moaned, sitting up in his chair.

Carlisle nodded. "I'm coming though. I hate to say it Emmett, but I don't trust you going on your own again."

The boy with the red-ish brown hair smiled crookedly. "Yeah, you ended up killing five innocent hikers."

Emmett growled under his breath.

"Edward. Don't test him." The woman said.

Edward didn't apologise.

_I felt the vision slipping away. I felt myself coming further and further into the real world, the vision blurring before me. I refused to let it go. Like it was a lifeline, I hung onto the vision. Slowly pulling it back into my vision. I kept thinking of those people, and more and more flashes of their life came to my head._

"Wait till Carlisle finds out!" Edward struggled not to shout.

Emmett glared at him. "You dare tell him, Edward."

"Woah. Wait till he finds out about this..." Rosalie muttered, coming into the room.

"Rose! I thought I could trust _you!" _

"It's not me that's going to tell him. Although, I have to admit, that mind reading thing of yours really does come in handy, Ed..."

"Don't call me Ed." He growled.

"But it's boring calling you Edward all the time..."

Edward didn't reply. Another picture came into view. This time they were all seated together in a big room, each one sat on a sofa. Carlisle and Esme sat together, Rosalie and Emmett sat together, and Edward sat alone, in what was seeming to be, as far away from the others as possible. Now, he looked unsettled, and incredibly lonely.

"Emmett. This is the-"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just that...that they smelt so...I couldn't help myself."

"Emmett, you're up to your 13th year now. I understand you're struggling...I can help you further but it's not helping when you decide to go off on your own whenever."

"Aren't I doing well, Carlisle?" The blonde asked, flashing her teeth with a huge, doll like smile.

Carlisle just nodded. "Exeptionally, Rose. But now isn't the time to gloat."

"I wasn't!"

Carlisle just ignored her. Edward stayed silent while Carlisle talked further to Emmett, who appeared to be loosing more and more interest as the seconds passed. Esme glanced over at Edward every few seconds, sometimes just keeping her stare on his completley. Her face looked worried, as if she was his mother, wondering what he was thinking sitting there so alone.

"You've never killed anyone though! You can't say how easy it is to resist the taste! You starved yourself like a madman that you are until you couldn't resist the f-ing deer that came galloping by."

"Emmett!" Esme scolded.

"Sorry..." He muttered. Every one was silent for a few seconds. "You're not mad, either...Sorry...Oh, _and _sorry for the swearing. Oh, and-Oh for God's sake I'll just say them all. Edward, it was me that messed up your music collection. I also hid your journals in the forest. I'll fetch them...Esme, it was me that dented the floor. Carlisle, I'm sorry I hunted several humans. Edward's been nice to me, I've...umm...done a few more than admitted to. I also brought a new car. I'm sorry for taking the mick out of your life style and you were very brave for doing it."

_The vision changed again._

Carlisle was sat in what appeared to be a study. To the right of the room was a wide curve of glass instead of a wall, on the only wall in the room was his desk. Above it were boxes of shelves, filled with papers and the odd photograph. I focused on Carlisle, who was writing on more papers, sighing quietly to himself. As I watched him write and pass from paper to paper, I noticed certain words in the writing.

_Edward Anthony Masen Cullen_

_16_

_...Emmett Mcarty Cullen_

_...Esme Anne Platt Evenson Cullen..._

The papers were all stacked, he pushed them away, turning them upside down so that only a blank piece of paper faced me.

After a few more trivial visions, I allowed myself to come out of it.

Somehow, I felt like I needed to meet those people. The thought of finding them appealed to me so much that I could have jumped up from my chair this second and searched. I felt like I could search the entire country, the whole world if I had to just to find them and it wouldn't bother me.

* * *

It was one night, three weeks later, that the last vision I'd have about this stranger came.

He was walking, still in a scruffy uniform, his honey golden hair shining. Out of nowhere, the exact diner I was in was before him, and he turned in. I had a huge smile on my face, my hand reached out, questioning him.

Over.

Suddenly, I realised I had a huge grin on my face. I looked back down on to the diner (for somehow during my vision I'd looked up) uncomfortably until a weird thought came to me.

It sent an electric current down my spine and left a tingling in my stomach. I looked up, and sure enough, a tall, thin but muscular man was walking up the street, past the glass windows. The weather outside was pouring heavily with rain, and the look on his face as he saw the sign on the door was one of relief. The diner was mainly empty, something I hadn't particularly noticed. His arms reached out unsteadily, and he pushed the door softly, entering and stepping as though cautious, scared of something that wasn't there.

Unintimidated by him, I hopped up off my chair and walked over. He froze in his place, looking down on my petite frame. We stood there for a while.

"You've kept me waiting a long time." I said.

He half bowed to me, keeping his eyes on my face. "I'm sorry, ma'am." He said.

I was shocked slighty from his southern accent, but didn't let it bother me. I didn't know what to expect.

I held out my hand, confident in every way possible. My smile widened as he looked down warily, and hesitated. I didn't know why, but it encouraged me.

After a few seconds, a smile crept up onto his face. His hand reached out and took mine, and I led him back to the counter as if I'd known him my entire life.

Somewhere in that time where we were sat in silence, another vision came. I wondered what his name was, and instantly I had a vision of myself speaking to him. The smile never disappeared of his face, he continued to look into my eyes and introduced himself as Jasper Whitlock.

As soon as I'd come from my vision it came to life. Jasper opened his mouth, but I stopped him.

"Your name is Jasper Whitlock." I said.

He stared, confused and yet amazed. I laughed, and explained to him every last detail I could remember of myself, including my visions, and of the family I'd seen in my visions. The Cullen's. He watched, anxious, and yet utterly bewildered at everything I was telling him.

* * *

**Is that okay? Tell me(:**


	36. Chapter 36

It had taken a long time. Possibly longer than I'd expected. Jasper continued to stay fairly quiet, though I got the sense he was comfortable. The smile that had appeared when we first met was yet to disapear. After another few hours, we left the diner. Jasper thought going to see these people was a bad idea.

"Come on!" I'd said. "There is no harm. I'd _see _it."

Jasper looked slightly uncomfortable. "People with, what was it? Gold eyes? That doesn't appear strange to you? You can never be too careful..."

"What's wrong with gold eyes!"

"Since when have you seen people with gold eyes?"

"I hate to point it out. But ours are red."

He'd frowned. "Shout it."

"I didn't."

He'd looked slightly over his shoulder to an group of teenagers staring at us. "They look like they heard it."

"And?"

"Wouldn't you have freaked out when you were human if you saw someone with red eyes?"

"Our eyes aren't read at the-What human life?"

He stared at me for a few seconds. "When you were a human."

Of course, this caused a whole other conversation. By the time I'd explained I had no memory of my human life - and he believed me - another hour had passed. Finally, we'd left the diner to where we were now. I looked up to him hopefully.

"Jasper. I swear. There is absolutley _no_ threat. Please believe me."

He was silent for a few seconds. I tried making eye contact but he wouldn't allow me to. I reached out for his hand once more, hoping that would work instead.

"I wouldn't lie." I said quietly.

He sighed quietly as I felt slight pressure on my hand. I smiled widely as he began to walk a little faster than human speed. As soon as we were round the corner, we began to run. After a few minutes, he stopped and looked down to me.

"Where do they live?"

I stared at him blankly. "Live?"

"Yes. Where _are _they?"

"Umm...I have no idea."

He laughed aloud. I'd never heard him laugh before. It made me smile. I enjoyed his pleasure.

"So how do you expect us to get there?"

I paused, staring at the floor and thinking only of the Cullen's. I'd started wondering on how we were going to get there, and the image of the Cullen's filled my mind. I saw them in a car, entering Chicago, Illinois.

"They're in...Chicago. Umm, Illinois..."

Jasper smiled. "I'm starting to like these visions."

As we began to run my thoughts became a blur for the first time since I could remember. I couldn't exactly compare it to being confusing, and all mixed up, because it wasn't. Everything was working absolutley fine. It just _seemed _confusing. I'd never had such a stir of emotion before.

From first glance, Jasper appeared happy. He was smiling - almost. He looked comfortable. But already, it was like I'd known him for forever. Inside he didn't know what to do, he was as mixed up and confused as I was. I was sure I'd feel the same, if a strange girl I'd just met told me she wanted to visit a 'family' she knew nothing about (which wasn't quite true, as I knew a lot about these people already). Although somehow, I couldn't emphasise with him. Perhaps because my visions were just too sure? I was too sure of myself.

"What are their names again?" Jasper asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

I knew if his memory was anything like mine, he wouldn't have forgotten. In addition, I knew he was trying to make small talk on our journey.I answered him with a reasuring smile, trying to force as much hope as him as I could. "There's Carlisle, who seems to be the leader, then Esme, his wife. Edward - he likes music; plays the piano; I _think _he can read minds - Rosalie - she's just...very pretty, or so I can tell - Emmett - the muscular one, he's very strong; enjoys arm wrestling his brother. They're all quite...close. Well, except Edward and Rosalie. There seems to be something between them, I don't know what really. It hasn't come up, and I can't seem to get anything. It's quite annoying."

"We shouldn't really ask too many questions on their personal life, should we?"

"No, it's going to be weird enough us getting there. Fun, though. I can see this being fun." A huge grin found it's way to my face, Jasper smiled too, looking down to the ground as we ran.

"You know, if you want we can swim. There's a lake on our way north, not much forest, I know the area...sort of. Swimming's...good."

I nodded. "Sure."

He stared at me incredulously. "You're too trusting."

"I trust _you. _I've been watching you for months."

"And my past? Doesn't that _bother _you? I'm struggling to keep my thirst under control as we speak."

"We're in a forest." I muttered.

"Exactly. Isn't that _worrying _to you?"

"Nope."

He shook his head again, almost laughing, and we continued to run deeper and deeper into the forest.

**Hmm, It took me so long this time because I re-wrote it FOUR times. I didn't know how to do this chapter, really, I had too many ideas. Tell me what you think! And you will get to hear their story's properly, it'll be when they meet the Cullen's (: Well, hope you liked it.**


	37. Chapter 37

**I know this one took forever. It would have been out only a few days later, but I re-wrote it nine times :l So, you know, hope you like it and sorry (: REVIEW PLEASE :D**

The forest wasn't far from the home, although we ended up walking some of the way. You could tell Jasper was getting extremley bored, and so I tried to keep him talking. It felt like I'd known him for years, not a few days.

"That didn't take long." He said as we stood at the end of a long driveway, slanting upwards.

"Edward and Emmett aren't in." I whispered, "So, Carlisle is the blonde one, he'll look slightly older than the others, more mature. His wife is Esme, she'll probably be closest to him, she's the brunette; Rosalie is the blonde girl. I doubt you'll miss her" I added, for some reason, it annoyed me to say such a thing. I didn't want him to notice her. "...Emmett is...big. He'll probably be protective of Rosalie, keep that in mind. Oh, and don't call her Rose. Really. Even if you hear Emmett say it, you can't."

Jasper nodded. "They probably know there's two vampires stood at the end of their drive. Shall we?" He looked forwards.

I nodded and followed him up the path. I could imagine my heart beating hard on my chest. My brain whizzing with ideas. Non of this happened as I climbed the driveway; my mind worked too well for the many ideas clouding it to be confusing anymore, my heart sat still in my chest; never beating again.

Once we were in view, Carlisle was stood on the porch wearing a smart, plain white shirt and waistcoat. Rosalie and Esme were being forced behind him; Esme wearing a petite floral dress, flowing out from the bottom and Rosalie wearing a short sleeved open dress; white, making her look like an angel.

"Hello." I waved at them, grinning.

Carlilse looked on confused and Esme caught onto his shoulder protectively or out of fear.

"I'm Alice. This it Jasper." I pointed at us both as we spoke and walked up to Carlisle. "Don't worry. No need to introduce us"-As they all looked very dumbstruck that we'd just turned up on their doorstep. An irrational part of my brain wondered why exactly-"You're Carlisle." I shook his hand. "And Esme," I merely looked round. I didn't think Carlilse would be too opposed to the idea of me going any closer right now. "And, of course, Rosalie." Rosalie looked annoyed rather than confused. She looked between me and Jasper, watching our every movements. "Mind you..." I muttered quieter, going to the highest the tips of my toes would allow to try and look over their heads. "Where are Edward and Emmett? No offence, but Edward looked cool."

Carlisle finally broke into a smile. I dropped back down to normal height and smiled with him. Jasper seemed to be gravitating towards us without quite realising it. After only a few seconds he was stood so close to Carlisle that he had to shake his hand to cover up his mistake.

"I'm...sorry." He mumbled, and took a large step backwards.

"How do you know us?" Rosalie asked from behind Carlisle. At last, she showed interest. Despite Carlisle she pushed forwards, throwing his arm to the side and walked straight up to me. Jasper moved closer; staring down on Rosalie. I had to hold his hand to calm him. "How do you know our names and where we live?"

"I know a lot more than that." I answered.

She raised her eyebrow slightly.I slid to the side to see Carlisle and smiled again. "Believe it or not, this is hopefully going to be quite a permenant stay. May I come in and talk? Or am I to stay on the porch front?"

He hesitated for a moment. I didn't miss the squeeze Esme gave his shoulder, or the small step back Rosalie took from me.

"Of course. You can come in...for now."

* * *

**Carlisle's POV**

"No, Rosalie." I said firmly.

She stayed sat on the floor staring out onto the forest.

"You're going to make it worse. You've been brilliant so far, you know you have. Better than Emmett, better than Esme, much better than Edward."

I disliked comparing her to the others, but it was what Rosalie needed. She craved the attention and satisfaction that she was better than others; especially Edward.

"But..."

"Rosalie, come on. Get up." I reached down.

Her eyes watered, but tears never fell. I was glad Esme wasn't in the room; she'd start crying too. Although I couldn't blame her. As Rosalie sat on the floor crying, I wanted to give her exactly what she wanted. I felt like a her father, not giving her what she wanted hurt me.

"Come on, Rosalie." I repeated, but didn't wait for her to get up. I leant down and picked her up off the floor; pulled her into my arms and held her. "I'm sorry..." I said.

She was silent; I wasn't aware as to how long we stood there, but Esme came running into the room at the exact point that Rosalie looked up.

"There's two...people at our door." She said.

"Vampires?" Rosalie asked.

Esme nodded. I frowned as I walked out to the door; Esme was pulling me back with no where near the strength she needed to stop me. Rosalie clung onto my arm.

"It's not Edward and Emmett coming back from hunting, is it?" I asked Esme.

She looked at me in disbelief. "Of course not, I'd know, wouldn't I?"

"Yeah, but what if they've brought people back?" Rosalie said.

We stood on the porch awaiting their appearance. I was slightly annoyed. More after such a short space of time? When I was thirsty? I knew I'd be able to do it, but who could it be? Another emotion came to me which I was unsure of. What if Edward had found someone? Someone he _liked. _I'd change her within a second if that was the case. It would fill that gaping whole in my chest.

Everything was shattered as two people came into sight. A small girl with porcelain skin and amber eyes came into view; her hair was short and spiky, she swung on the others arm with a huge grin on her face. The other was a man; he looked a lot like Edward, except his hair was longer and a honey gold. He was thin, yet muscular, and covered in ... _thousands_ of battle scars. Esme clung harder onto my arm until it felt like it should hurt; I knew by now, if possible, my skin would be purple and bruised from her clinging. Rosalie on the other hand was intrigued. Of course, she held onto my arm, protectivley or otherwise, but the look on her face shed no fear. She was interested in the two people, her angelic face pushed into a frown.

The two vampires came closer; Edward and Emmett were no where in sight. I started to worry slightly: One for the welfare of Rosalie and, of course, Esme, and two for the lack of return from Edward and Emmett. My only two boys.

At last, the two reached us. The man held back on the girl protectivley, whilst she continued to walk until she was only a step down from me.

"Hello." She said with a grin.

I imagined I looked quite confused. Esme gripped my arm ever tighter and it was beginning to become uncomfortable.

"I'm Alice. This it Jasper." She pointed at herself, and then to the older man. "Don't worry. No need to introduce us. You're Carlisle."She reached further up and shook my hand. I realised for a second how incredibly short she was, and it crossed my mind as to her age. She looked fully grown, almost adult, and yet she was so small. "And Esme." She looked round, perhaps fearing what I might do if she reached for Esme. How did she know I had a relationship with Esme? Many a person had mistaked me and Rosalie to be partners, and even married. "And, of course, Rosalie...Mind you..." She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, trying to see over us without sucess. "Where are Edward and Emmet? No offence, but Edward looked cool."

I smiled without quite realising it. 'Edward looked cool'? I was quite confused as to whether or not I should take that as a compliment. She returned to her normal height and smiled with me, except this time, it looked as though it was from achievment. She was pleased with herself.

The man named Jasper was coming closer towards us. I wondered whether he realised he was doing it, when all of a sudden I didn't care. I felt nothing but calm, happiness and calm. I should be tensed this very second; he was so close I'd be able to feel his breath on my face - if either of us was really breathing - but all I could feel was calm. I couldn't help it; I couldn't fight it.

"I'm sorry..." He said, and took my hand and shook it before I could do anything different. He took a large step backwards, and held onto Alice.

"How do you know us?" Rosalie asked from behind me. I attempted to hold her back as she pushed her way forwards, but she threw my arm out of the way and stood infront of Alice. "How do you know our names and where we live?"

"I know a lot more than that." She answered.

Rosalie raised her eyebrows and took a step back. Alice slid to the side and faced me, still smiling. "Believe it or not, this is hopefully going to be quite a permenant stay. May I come in and talk? Or am I to stay on the porch front?"

I hesitated. Esme, who had released some of the pressure from my arm, squeezed it again. Rosalie shuffled back into me again; I was consumed my calm and happiness. "Of course you can. For now." I said.


	38. Chapter 38

**Thank you to all my reviewers this time round. Amazing people (: I don't wanna leave a long note, because that would be boring and pointless, so here you go :D Next Chapter! PLEASE REVIEW :D**

"Wait. You don't remember anything from your human life?" Rosalie asked, raising her eye brows slightly.

I shook my head; feeling quite left out. Jasper was about to start on his life, and I knew his would include what happened until he reached his 20th birthday. How it happened; maybe he'd even include details he'd excluded when he was talking to me? I doubted it. He seemed very much in a trance, not quite noticing what he was saying to how much he was looking at me.

At that moment, I noticed Jasper watching me with odd concern, before quickly looking back to the family before us.

"Alice saw you. In her visions. She travelled alone for a long time, didn't you, Alice?"

I looked up. Jasper was finishing the story for me. I smiled gratefully at him, though it held no real meaning. Somehow, I felt more upset than I had ever done before. From my memory anyway. Why wasn't it as good as all theirs? Why couldn't I remember my past life? Was there something wrong with me? I mentally shook myself; Of course there was nothing wrong with me. _Shut up, Alice._

"I suppose, without her visions, she'd be pretty lost by now. Probably...Yes, well, we won't go into that." He hesitated, as if trying to control his emotion. Carlisle had quite a cheesy grin on his face, which cheered me up slightly. At least they looked like they wanted us. "Well, she wouldn't feed properly on the way here. Said it was bad, wrong. I asked her what she was going to eat, and she said _animals. _I couldn't quite believe her. She claimed she'd thought of it whilst walking through the forest, but by the look on her face, I somehow doubt it. I have a feeling she got it from you; she just didn't want to make me even more unwilling to come. It feels like I've known her for years already, I know what she's going to say or do. Perhaps it's because I know her emotions so well? She's as easy to read to me as a book. So we came here. She...she said that you were _different. _That you were a...family somehow. Sorry, it's just I'm not..."

"Don't worry." Carlisle said. "I doubt we're very common. But...about you?"

"Oh. Yes. I'm from a different backgrounds by the looks of it." Jasper smiled awkwardly, looked from me to the family, and back again. "I was a major in the Confederate army back in 1861. I was almost 17, but went in anyway, I suppose I shouldn't have...I was too young. But anyway, I did. Not long after that, and me becoming a major, Maria came into my life. Maria and her _sisters. _I can't remember their names too clearly, but I suppose I don't really want to. They changed me, put me into an army. A newborn army. You all know, I'm sure, what it's like when you're first changed." He sighed. "You're incredibly strong; ridiculously thirsty; and unbelievably fast. Although, when you're using it for the wrong, it all doesn't seem to nice." He paused for a few seconds where I was sure I heard Rosalie mutter very quietly, _"It wasn't nice."_. All of their eyes were fixed on him, though he appeared to be trying not to notice. And then he continued again, "At first, I didn't understand. Why this was wrong. What was going on. What we were fighting for. But then, of course, it all made it self clear. I was a vampire, my only desire should be blood, death and violence; I fight for the land my keepers want, and I should respect that without complaining or getting myself killed. Maria favoured me, in particular it seemed, as I came out to be a good fighter. That's why she kept me for so long. I kept the other newborns undercontrol, see, she made dozens a month, usually weekly, because they were getting thereselves killed. Fighting between themselves, fighting in her wars. I stayed though. I had to. It was barely any time that had passed before I noticed my...gift? I don't know if you have them like me, Alice says not, but it's the manipulation of emotions. It seemed okay at first. I could calm the newborns, help them. But before long, I noticed it wasn't working. I was depressed, and I could do nothing to help myself emitting that to every person within a five mile radius. I could give them emotion, any emotion I wanted to-"

"Make me feel happy." Rosalie demanded. Carlisle looked at her, disaproving, but saying nothing, and Esme appeared to have come out of some kind of strange trance.

"Happy?" Jasper asked, seeming to enjoy the challenge. "Okay."

A mere few seconds passed until Rosalie seemed to be fighting a smile. We all looked at her, confused, until Carlisle and Esme were looking quite the same, and finally, Jasper let go. Their whole bodies relaxed, and Carlisle almost began to laugh.

"That's good." Rosalie approved.

Jasper smiled widely, unintentionally pushing it onto us. He felt accepted, as though he belonged for the first time - ever.

"Y-Yes, umm, I could calm them. But then I couldn't, because I was too depressed. That's about it. When I finally got away, I went searching, and Alice saw me. She seemed to be waiting, and we came here within a few days of talking. She said to trust her, and I couldn't help it. We came here, to...live with you."

There was silence for a few seconds. Carlisle looked to Esme and Rosalie looked out of the window. Finally, Carlisle smiled.

"Would you mind if I talked to Esme for a few minutes? We won't be long."

Jasper nodded curtly, and as the two parental figures walked from the room, their daughter followed.

"I can't believe you." Jasper whispered. When I looked up, he was smiling.

"Why?"

"I had to say that, because you felt left out." His smile turned into a grin.

I'd forgotted Jasper could feel my emotion. "Yes, well. It's true, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"We want to live here. You want to, don't you? Otherwise you would've waited for me to say it. I know you would."

Jasper finally broke, and laughed. "They seem welcoming. They're not threatening at all, I've been evaluting their emotion for the past several hours. Animals though? _Animals?_"

* * *

**Esme's POV**

Carlisle brought me into his study. I felt much calmer than I had before; Alice looked so familiar somehow, she was like a little child rather than a child, I already felt attatched to her. And Jasper. Jasper the big brother, or so it seemed. Already I felt like I was with them. They were part of the family. I wondered whether Carlisle would want them to join the family? I'd go with whatever he needed, whatever he wanted. If I could live through losing my own son, I could live through losing two strangers.

"Esme?" Carlisle sounded concerned. I suddenly realised I must have been daydreaming, and snapped back into reality to face him.

"Umm, yes?"

"Do you..want another daughter? Another son?" He asked. I didn't answer for a while. "It'd be a lot easier. I wouldn't have to change them. By their ages, I'm sure they've already trained quite well on abstenence from drinking human blood; It's up to you this time, Esme. I'll be happy with whatever you choose."

I still wasn't answering. My head was fuzzed. I wanted another son, of course I wanted another son. Every son I mothered in this life added to my happiness, I was born to do this. Then Alice. She was perfect. Of course, I loved all of them, but Alice seemed so young...so optimistic...so _different. _

Carlisle held me closer, wrapped me in his arms, and kissed me. "I'll be happy with whatever you choose, Esme. You shouldn't feel so pressure into the situation. Another son? And Alice is so young...so small and optimistic and...fun. You need that. Blimey, I think we all do. Emmett will love her. Someone to play with. Apparently, Edward's too boring. I told him Edward isn't happy, but does he listen? It's like trying to tame a three year old who's playing in a sandpit. Really."

I smiled and nodded. Carlisle looked down to me confused, he'd been rambling on so often lately about the children it was getting rather funny. "Yes." I said more clearly, "Yes, I want them to live with us. They'd be excellent children, I think I already love them."

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	39. Chapter 39

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Jasper looked at me in bewilderment, and I laughed. His emotion boring onto me was so much like my own, there was nothing we could do but smile, laugh and play. For the first time in our lives, we'd belonged. Really belonged. We'd never have to think about those days, long ago, those years, those months; whenever. It was all just a memory. Something that happened to somebody else, because this is where we had to be. This is where we were always made to be.

I was reviewing Edward's room. It was gorgeous: the far wall was entirely glass, unusual for the era, though a definite something for the future; there was a huge row of book shelves, each piled with books, music, worn journals, and tiny, irrelevant (to us) pieces of wood, or stones, little lockets, pictures and an old leather booklet, covered in dust, with a thick, ivory ribbon tied into a bow around it. It was very tempting to reach up, and find out what the object was, but I knew I musn't. I'd only just been let in, and I didn't fancy being kicked out or being on the wrong side of Edward. Like I'd said, Edward really did look cool.

Apart from some clutter, a chester draw of clothing, and an old-fashioned, and slightly broken down, wardrobe, there was a grand piano, held just by the window, over looking the view perfectly. I smiled; I'd seen Edward play that piano un-countable amount of times in my mind, but now, to see it with to my own two eyes, and be able to reach out and touch it, felt unbelievable.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked from downstairs. "Jasper?"

I smiled at him again; Jasper winked, and began running down the stairs, and I chased after him. When we finally stopped at the bottom, I'd jumped onto his back playfully, and he was holding me. Carlisle took one glance at us both, smirking, and nodded towards the door.

I looked out.

"I love you!" I shouted.

He'd asked me not long ago, as I'd be staying from now on, what I needed for my room. I didn't know, not really, but he showed me a catalouge and I may have gone slightly wild. I'd never have known it would be so much fun. My brain automatically matched up what was perfect, and what wasn't. I had the whole bedroom planned out, there in my head, just ready to go up on the walls.

"We're going to have to build you a room, I think. Unless you want the spare one, but it's very small. Other than that, we have a very spacious garage." Esme said, as I scooped up several boxes, and started carrying them up the stairs.

"Don't worry about me, Esme, I've got everything planned." I winked at her, Jasper looked awkwardly back, carrying another half of the boxes, and followed me up.

"Alice." He said. "What _is _the plan? Or aren't I allowed to know?"

I dumped down the boxes in Edward's room, and grinned. I wasn't going to tell him yet, unless it was completley obvious (which, personally, I think it should have been).

"Right then." I said, moving over to the window. On my journey, the question beginning to form in my head answered itself with a vision of myself pulling a certain catch on the door, and having to flick it upwards to slide the glass window open. Wasn't it classed as a door then? I wondered as I flicked that exact switch, and with a small crack, the supposed window started to slide backwards.

"Ooo, good. He's not going to miss it too much. The garage is right beneath the bedroom."

I stared at the bookcases, wondering how to pack it, and my vision came to my call. I walked onto the wide landing, jumped, and opened up the attic. With another jump, I was up there, and another, I was down with several boxes and a cheesy grin.

Jasper was leaning against the wall, smirking, possibly in disbelief, maybe in amusement. I was finding it hard to ignore him.

Within a minute, every item of Edward's was in a box. I was delighted by how much I'd managed; to use my strength for something other than a murder was not just relieving, but comforting. The only things that remained in the room, were chester drawers, a wardrobe, a sofa-bed and a huge grand piano.

"Right. Can you go and put all these boxes into the garage, please, Jasper? The keys are hanging up in the kitchen, by the door, turn...right." I said after my vision completed. "If anybody questions you, just tell them Alice is forcing me."

Jasper nodded very slowly, and picked up about eight of the boxes at once. I gave him a quick grin before he left the room, and started to move the furniture towards the large glass window.

It was strange, carrying a wardbrobe. How much did they weigh? I bet they all weighed much more than me, and yet I was carrying it. It made me want to laugh. I held the shelves way above foot level, and jumped from the window. With grace, I landed. Jasper had already opened the garage, which was luckily empty, and I placed the wardrobe against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Esme asked.

I couldn't see her, though already I recognized her voice. I heard her coming, as well as being able to pick up her scent, and so it was no surprise. I turned around with a reasuring smile to face her.

"I'm taking Edward's bedroom." I said, taking an overly large breath. "I knew you'd let me, so I took it."

She was either going to get very angry, or laugh. From my visions, I knew exactly which one; the reasoning for having so much confidence in what I was about to do to my new home. She laughed. For a good few minutes, she just laughed.

"Edward's going to go mad." She said at last.

Carlisle came out after hearing the noise and surveyed the garage; he, too, smiled.

"Yes, he is. Why do you want his room?" Carlisle asked.

"He has the most amazing view. It's like looking out onto..."

"A forest." Jasper answered dully.

"Oi." I smacked his chest playfully. "You come from the south. How many forests have you really seen?"

Jasper stayed quiet. I jumped back up to the bedroom, and came back down with his chester drawers.

"He'll be fine with it, really." I said, as they were all still stood there. "I've seen it. He'll be grumpy, but when isn't Edward grumpy? He's a very grumpy person..."

"Can you use another word for grumpy please?" Jasper asked.

I looked to him and he was smirking. He was trying to irritate me.

"Well, he's not always _bad-tempered. _He just doesn't really...I'll shup up, you know. Any idea on how to get that piano out?"

Carlisle shook his head from side to side in astonishment, looked to window, and said. "It'll fit through there. Make sure you don't get a fingerprint on it, won't you?"

And he walked back into the house, Esme following.

* * *

"This is comfortable." I said. "I like this."

Me and Jasper were lay on the bed of a new couch. On the far wall was a long wardrobe (spreading the walls length; Carlisle had brought me some knew clothes, and I had a few of Rosalies, Jasper had some of Edwards, but Carlisle promised me that he'd take me shopping); on the smallest wall where Edward's warbrobe and chester drawers had been I'd replaced with block shelves, some full of books, others ready to be filled, and a rather large television placed on top of some drawers.

We were both staring out of the window when it sounded. Two people: running.

"Oooo, they're back." I grinned at Jasper who looked uncomfortable now, then to the clock on the side.

"You have eight-two seconds to get down stairs and look happy." I told him, and jumped up off the bed.

Jasper followed me hastily, clinging onto my waist protectivley as we reached the bottom of the stairs. I smiled at him reasuringly, and Carlisle gave us one of those strange, cheesy grins. We both looked away. Rosalie was waiting by the glass window, staring out into the forest looking almost insane; Esme was unsure of whether to watch the door, or to watch Rosalie, and for the first time I'd come here, I was confused. _Confused. _I mean, everytime I'd watched this, I hadn't seen them waiting and watching as people came back from hunting? Why were they doing _that? _They didn't _need _to.

I must have had quite an expression on my face, as Carlisle looked to me, worriedly, and reached out to put a hand on my shoulder. "They won't hurt you, you know that? Edward and Emmett are-"

"I know, I know. But why are you stood waiting for them? That wasn't in any of my visions."

Carlisle smirked, and dropped his arm. "Edward's dragging Emmett. It means he's done something he shouldn't have. That's why Rosalie looks so mad over there." He nodded towards her; Rosalie didn't move. "It'll be over soon. Emmett still struggles, he's probably drunken human blood."

"And-Hang on, struggles?" Jasper stuttered.

Carlisle nodded, but both Edward and Emmett came storming through the door. Edward chucked Emmett onto the floor, and Emmett started laughing.

"Eight. Eight people, Carlisle. Campers, all of them. He just...went crazy."

"Hey! You're not so innocent yourself!" Emmett shouted.

"I took the tiniest bit off your hand when I yanked you up! At least I didn't finish them off when you left them half dead in the fo-_Who are you?_"

I grinned and took a step forwards. Jasper walked with me, like a magnet, we took one step forwards together, or non at all. "I'm Alice." I said, "And this is Jasper."

"Hu-"

"And I took your room." I added.

Edward seemed to forget normal greetings all together. His eyes turned a slightly darker shade despite the fact they'd just been hunting, and he ran up the stairs. You could hear him as he opened and shut every door in the house until he reached his own and there was silence. Finally, a whimper, and Edward jumped from the window to the garage, not bothering to use keys to open the door, and there was complete silence as he reviewed his knew room.

"He'll be fine." I said chirpily.

"Jasper...are you okay?" Carlisle asked.

Jasper shook himself before I could see what Carlilse had seen, and smiled to me. Unnerved, I stared down to Emmett who was just beginning to rise.

"Hi." He said, and reached out to take my hand. It was covered in warm, claret blood. Holding my breath, I waved, and he dropped his hand. "Alice and Jasper, right? Who are you two then?"

**Review PLEASE :D I wasn't very well the other day, migranes and stuff :l So here you go anyway (:**


	40. Chapter 40

**Few notes I kinda need you to read! **

**Confusion on the last chapter? Sorry if it appeared so, but Emmett wasn't really getting at anything in particular. It was just showing that he'd not quite got into the habit yet, and perhaps something to show Carlisle how much Jasper was already struggling. If you think about it, Emmett isn't really the type who would care to notice what he was really doing until after he'd done it. Or at least that was my perception on him. But anyways, thanks to all the reviews again :D Reviews = BIG Smiles :D**

**It doesn't say CLEARLY when Alice finds out about her past. So I'm going to do my own thing. It won't be different to the book though...I suppose you'll just have to see. If anyone knows, EXACTLY when, then please tell me. And I know she TELLS Bella at the end of Twilight, but that doesn't mean she only found out then, right? So that's that. You'll just have to see (: **

**Last thing, I know it may seem that the first few days of Alice and Jasper being with the Cullen's are long, but I want to add in a few conversations and stuff. Show you how their links sort of started. It'll probably be a few chapters at the most. **

**Right, NOW you can read the new chapter. Thanks for reading :D**

After another detailed, long explanation about where we had come from, and who we were, Emmett looked content. He was a very laid back character, as I already knew. This is what I liked about Emmett; forever a child, forever acting in ways he shouldn't, and playing stupid games or silly pranks; annoying siblings for no reason whatsoever and getting on with life whatever it threw at him. You needed to in this life, as I'd recently learnt, otherwise you'd just be depressed, lonely, and overcome.

Edward was looking grumpy on the sofa. He sat there, reading, pretending not to notice anything that was going on; Esme glanced over at him frequently in concern, whilst Carlisle took Emmett from the room to 'talk to him'. It was quite obvious that Emmett was now about to be told off for his earlier today.

I was surprised how fast it had gone, today, I don't think a day had ever gone faster before in my life. I repeatedly stared at the clock, asking myself if that much time had really passed, until Emmett returned, Edward went to his bedroom (making his anger and annoyance obvious as he took the steps heavily down to the garage, and slammed the door shut so that it echoed hollowly) and Jasper gave me a quick nudge, and glanced at the staircase.

I nodded, and said goodnight to both Carlisle and Esme, and followed him up the stairs to our bedroom.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked; he sat on the floor, only leaning against the bed. He refused to lie on the same bed as a woman and said that it would be wrong, as I was so young, and he was much older, and, for the sixtieth time, _male. _I'd finally sighed in defeat, and allowed him to take refuge on the floor.

"Nothing." I lied.

In truth, I felt terrible. Edward had been very upset, possibly more upset than I'd percieved in my visions, and far more angry. I continued to make a note in my head that I should pay much more attention, and not allow myself to get caught up in my excitment, but even now that seemed unlikely to ever happen. I'd just have to apologise to him...give him the room back. No. I'd apologise for taking it, but didn't Carlisle mention something about moving? He'd get a bigger house, with more rooms, and both me and Edward could have one where there was an amazing view. _'Forests' _I remembered Jasper quoting; it brought a small smile to my lips.

"You can't lie to me, please remember that." Jasper said cooly, and his hand reached up to find mine.

I hadn't seen that coming.

"I just...I suppose I feel guilty." I said at last.

He nodded, very slowly, "For what?"

"I took his bedroom."

"You didn't find it that bad a few hours ago."

I could imagine the smile on his lips. Just the way he'd said it was clear he was struggling not to smile.

"Did you find that funny?" I asked.

He shook his head, failing to hold in his laughter.

"What?" I said, innocently. "What did I do that was so funny?"

"You're so...optimistic. And then, when it all goes wrong, you still manage to be-"

"I'm not optimistic right now."

"You are. You're going to apologise, and you expect him to forgive you. In fact, you probably know already. It's obvious you're not going to give the room like it too much, you like the view, correct? You're so easy to read."

"I haven't anticipated his reaction to my apology yet, actually. And how is it so _obvious _that I'm not going to give the room back? Unless you're not telling me something..."

"Unlikely, don't you think? That I wouldn't be telling you something. Think you're visions are slipping? Wouldn't you have saw it?" He leant his head back so he could wink at me and I purposely ruffled up his hair. It was thick, and stuck in it's new fuzzed position. "Thank you." He said, and finally climbed onto the bed with me.

* * *

A few hours more had passed and the light was making it's first appearance. The house had been surprisingly quiet over the night. Edward played his music at some point, and then played the piano the next, but he stopped after about an hour. Carlisle and Esme had been speaking downstairs earlier, but finally fell silent. Emmett was somewhere in the attic. Or so I presumed. He was above us, listening to a television. I assumed Rosalie was with him, although she was not speaking.

Only half an hour ago Carlisle and Esme had began to talk again. I listened for a few minutes, at a loss of anything more to do. Jasper was very content, just lay by my side, his hand still entwined with mine. After those few, short minutes, I'd lost interest and began to talk to myself in my head, made decisions to provoke visions, and watched them instead. But then my name was mentioned, and I was instantly drawn to the conversation.

"She's young." Carlisle said.

I presumed Esme nodded, as there was silence for a few seconds.

"Younger than the others, I think. I can't be sure though. I don't think she remembers." Carlisle sighed. "That must be horrible."

"What's that?" Esme asked.

"Not being able to remember your life...She must have been so lost. So alone."

"You were, too." Esme commented.

Carlisle chuckled. "Yes, I suppose, but at least I knew what had happened. How I'd gotten to where I was. Who people were. The basic rules to my existence. _How _to hide, and _where _to go and _who _to talk to-"

"Sshh." Esme comforted, for Carlisle was sounding more distressed by the second. "She's here now, isn't she? She's safe now, and we'll take care of her. Like she's our own, like we have all the others. We'll teach her, and love her, and comfort her when she needs us. She'll be our little girl, the baby."

Esme sounded extremley pleased with this, I could imagine her face glowing perfectly, and yet I couldn't really understand why. I'd have to find out; that was one thing I didn't now much about. _Their _back story's. I'd heard snippets, of course, from when they were re-told for some reason or another; but this was uncommon. They didn't enjoy re-telling their tales, much the same as me, or as Jasper. And now Carlisle had mentioned how alone he was when he was first changed made me want to jump out of the bed this second and ask him what on earth had happened.

"She seems mature, though." Carlisle said. "Perhaps she's not the youngest."

"It's probably her visions that have matured her, Carlisle."

But Carlisle was quiet. I'd almost lost interest it had been so long, but finally, Carlisle spoke again. "She has to have records somewhere; she existed. We'll find her. Find out about her."

"Carlisle-"

"What? It'll be easy. We'll just go to the library. Look through all the old archives. There has to be something. A marriage of her parents, her birth...her death."

"Carlisle, really? Don't do something you're going to regret. What if she...doesn't want to know?"

"Did it sound to you like she didn't want to know?"

"No...but what if she doesn't want to know yet? We should let her do this."

"Well," He said, and his voice held something of a finality. "She's been able to hear everything we've just been saying. Funnily enough, I've just realised that. And so, if she doesn't want us, or herself to know, all she has to do is ask."

Esme didn't even sigh in her defeat. She was completley silent, despite some shuffling, and Carlisle had rose to go somewhere. I shut my eyes, my head confused, upset, and blurred with decision.

* * *

Everybody was in the front room by the next afternoon. Carlisle was talking to Rosalie about theire next hunting trip, I listened in, as I was going hunting with them today.

"I'll go, of course." Carlisle said. "I understand you struggle, Jasper. Alice?"

I shrugged. "I've hunted animals before."

Carlisle didn't question me anymore. He turned to Rose and said, "Come on then. It's me, you, Jasper, Alice and Esme by the looks of it."

"That's a lot of us." Rosalie muttered.

Esme stayed seated. "I'll go tonight. I'll be fine."

"You need to go." Carlisle argued. "Come on. I won't take no for an answer."

Esme sighed and got up, and we all ran into the forest.

"Animals." Jasper muttered as we stopped dead in the middle of the forest. "Really? You eat _animals?" _

"We don't _eat _them." Rosalie muttered back.

Carlisle gave her what looked like a warning glance. "We have to be careful." He said. "Sometimes, there are humans near. I don't want either of you getting distracted by them. You see, no matter how much you say you have control over yourself," Jasper snorted, as if to say he knew he didn't, but Carlisle ignored him. "You won't. Not when that passes you. You'll instantly attack. You won't know what you're doing until you've stopped. And by that time, you've usually killed them."

Rosalie was getting impatient. She kept looking around, searching, her nostrils flared, and she glared at Carlisle over and over again. Esme hung by Carlisle. It was clear she still didn't fully trust herself, and depending on Carlisle. I knew I could stop myself, but then again, I doubted that straight away. Carlilse had told us not to; said when we'd smelt it, we'd attack. But how many times had I gone past humans and ran? Did Carlisle know I had done that? I doubted it. Jasper looked from me, to Carlisle, and back again. I noticed him doing this more, and figured he was trying to control himself. His sense of smell might have been better than ours, considering he'd always hunted and attacked humans in the past for food. Could he smell someone further in the distance? Too far away for him to run to now, and get to without Carlisle stopping him, but there. I felt horrible if he could. We were just stood here, while he was going through torture. But then I realised he must have been picking up on every emotion in the area. It must be horrible, feeling everybody elses thirst as well as your own. And what other emotions were they feeling? Esme looked terrified, Rosalie annoyed, and Carlisle stressed. I suddenly felt like dragging him a million miles away.

"Okay...I'll go with Jasper and Alice. Esme, do you want to go with Rosalie?"

Esme nodded, and Rosalie and herself ran into the forest at full speed. Jasper was looking impatient now, even without Rosalie's presence.

"Come on then. You'll probably pick up a mountain lion, you'll be kind of tuned into their scents."

* * *

It had taken a while. Jasper constantly went off the track, and I wasn't doing much good with distractions myself. Carlisle had caught Jasper twice. He'd picked up a scent, and ran for it, and Carlisle had chased him for a mere few seconds until he'd caught him. I was continually surprised at how Jasper calmed so quickly. Afterall, he was prepared to hunt; his first instinct would be to attack, or kill, but everytime Carlisle caught him, he strugged, kicked, and pushed, and finally gave in.

I had a feeling he was doing it for me.

Finally, we found something. A mountain lion, like Carlisle had suggested. Carlisle made sure Jasper contiuned to hunt until he was full (which took a very, very long time, as I was very quickly full compared to him) and we began our walk back to the forest.

"They don't taste as nice as humans." Jasper said on the way back. It sounded like he was trying not to make it sound like a moan.

Carlisle laughed. "I'm sorry about that; but you'll get used to it."

"I don't think I will..." Jasper said.

It was quite for a few minutes. We were jogging rather than running, meaning there was a lot more time to spare and talk in. After another few moments had passed, Jasper stopped. Just stopped. Dead. In the middle of the forest. His body went completley rigid; he was staring at Carlisle.

"Jasper..." Carlisle warned.

I took a long breath in and stopped. Humans. A lot of humans...at least...fifty. What are fifty humans doing in a forest? At this time? This deep?

But before any of these questions could be answered, or Carlisle or myself could get a grip on Jasper, he was running. Faster than I'd ever seen anyone run before. He looked defiant as he ran, triumphant. He was already too far away from Carlisle or myself for either of us to catch him, and he was winning.

Yes...I was right. Fifty two to be exact. They were in a clearning. Smiles on their faces. Bringing out tents, and helping one another put them up. Setting up fires and unpacking bags of food and materials. But Jasper didn't stop, did he? He kept going. He ran right into the center of the clearing before any of us could stop him, and snatched up the first thing that reached his fingers.

Carlisle was right. Jasper didn't know what he was doing. He looked insane under the diming light of the day; the way the flames danced of his perfect, flawless skin, and glowed. He didn't even notice me, as I stopped dead on the edge of the grouping, or as Carlisle ran in and slammed Jasper to the ground.

It was a surprise to see him go to the floor so quickly. I expected him to fight. Then again, most of the surprise was knocked out by the sudden pain. Jasper was being hurt. Why did I care so much?

Jasper growled through his teeth, a vicious warning against Carlisle's vice grip. His chest started rising and falling so quickly it looked as though he was having convulsions. Finally, he jumped against Carlisle's hold and won. His body flung him over to the other side of the circle, and he lunged before Carlisle, ready to kill.

"Get. Off." He snarled, and grabbed one of the tents. For a few seconds, he swung it, flipped it, and chucked it into the fire.

A little over timed, the people from the gathering began to cause havoc. Running around, gathering their children, crying, screaming. Carlisle sighed in defeat and sat up.

"Jasper. Stop." He asked, very politley for the situation. I watched on in horror, scared to go and stand near my new father figure. Would Jasper attack without realising it? Or would he stop?

"Please." Carlisle added. "Just stop."

"It _hurts._" Jasper said, his voice tight, and thick from where he held his anger. "I'm not going to listen to you, when it hurts like this. How can I _forget _the memorys? The times, long ago, when I have this...this _raging fire _in my throat? And this smell. The smell of fires, and burning, and people chattering so helplessly when they have _no idea what is coming NEXT!_" His voice slowly began to raise; he was forgetting trying to hold in any anger anymore. "I don't want to remember. Animals? What the-_what are animals supposed to do? Feed your hunger? It's idiotic! The whole idea is stupid. It's like trying to make a human live on...live on one vegetable for the rest of the LIVES." _

It was obvious how he was trying to gather as many excuses as he could to use against Carlisle. He felt stupid for what he was doing, he didn't want to. For the first time, his eyes met mine and he shook with anger, looked away, and began again. Shouting irrelevant things at Carlisle; repeating himself.

With no other option left, I stepped into the circle, and stood by Carlisle. It clearly made Jasper angrier. He was shaking, staring at the floor, and snarling beneath his breath. He looked up once, stared me in the eyes, and started running towards me like I was an invisible, but obvious barrier.

**Quite long that is actually. Didn't expect it to be ;) PLEASE Review! :Dx**


	41. Chapter 41

**Not many reviews at all! At least five for this chapter, and that's not a lot to ask for, is it? FIVE. Just, anybody who reads it, just REVIEW it. I don't care if you just put 'loved it' or 'nice chapter' or something like that for short. It's a review, right? It makes me happy. If you want a more detailed one, put perhaps something you liked, and something I could improve on? If you really didn't like something about the chapter, then put it...umm, how do I say it? Nicely? Yeah, just do it nicely, please :) I don't mind you critisising it a bit as long as there's something good in there too (: **

It all happened very quickly - even for me. Carlisle ran forwards and dived in front of me; they collided, and Jasper was trying to kill Carlisle. His hands were wrapped around his torso one second, then Carlisle had fought him off the second. Jasper seemed to be giving in. He'd caught my face too many times in the short battle, and finally, he allowed himself to be restrained by Carlisle; his arms were behind his back, he was breathing heavily and leaning on Carlisle.

Though it looked like he wanted to say something, he kept silent, stopping his heavy breathing in the same second.

I watched him for a few seconds, and began to walk away. I didn't care what Carlisle did to the humans, or how he punished Jasper - even if he wanted to. For that reason, I tried my hardest to block out any visions of them; I didn't even think about them.

I'd arrived at home a long time before they even started the journey back.

* * *

First light was beginning to dawn again. The clouds held heavy over the dreary town; I got up from where I was lay to the rustling of the forest, and watched out of the clear glass pane.I was right in thinking that Carlisle and Jasper were returning, I'd tried my hardest to block out any vision, but they'd appeared anyway. They started coming when I thought about what happened; I couldn't help worrying. Edward must have heard, because he said he was going out, and ran into the forest a few seconds later. Then my visions became clear, as I allowed them to, and I saw what Edward was about to find out.

All but ten people hadn't believed a thing they saw. Carlisle had told them a very convincing story about a past that had never existed to make up for Jasper's story. The people who didn't believe thought they were going insane, or, according to Edward, weren't a that much of a threat. The majority of the ten were children; their parents repeatedly told them to be quiet when they brought up their theory's. Carlisle had already decided to move, but he didn't know where. Every so often, I'd get another flash places, villages, towns and cities I'd never seen before. Some filled with high buildings, and back-to-back houses; crowded with not much space for a forest or wildlife. Others were tall, great mansions, situated somewhere in a vast countryside that I'd never known to exist.

As they entered the house Carlisle patted Jasper on the shoulder. Jasper looked at the floor. Distress was laying heavily upon my shoulders; I realised, merely a few seconds later, that this was Jasper. I walked up to him; he was much taller than me, and so, despite him facing the floor, I only had to stand beneath him and look upwards to see his face. Very quickly, he looked away. The despair pressed heavier onto me. I wanted to back away, but I wouldn't. He needed someone. Carlisle patted his back again, but didn't take his hand away this time. He looked towards me with concern.

"I'm fine." Jasper muttered, and took a left to the staircase. Without looking back, he ran up to the top; there were a few, quiet bangs and shuffles, and sudden silence. The only way you'd know he was still in the house, was because of the emotion bringing us all down.

**

* * *

**

Jasper was in the attic. I couldn't get in without breaking the door, and so sat in my room alone. It was strange, though I'd only been here a few days, to lay in my bedroom alone. I disliked it, and debated whether to go and talk to one of the others.

After their return, Esme and Rosalie went their own ways; Esme to Carlisle in the front room, and Rosalie to Emmett in their room. It was very quiet for the time, until Rosalie began talking to Emmett. It just seemed like her to have to break the silence.

I sighed, got up, and walked down the stairs. By the time I'd gotten to the bottom I knew I was going to Edward's, and Rosalie was on her way to see Carlisle. For this reason, I rushed down the stairs, throught the door, and down the chillier set of stairs to Edward's new room. It was in the garage, of course, since I'd chucked him out of his own room.

"Hello." I said, stood by the door.

Edward turned at my arrival; like expected, he didn't look annoyed at my presence. "Hello." He greeted simply, and spun his chair around to face me. "Did you want something?"

"No. Nothing. I just wanted to talk." I noticed I wasn't as bubbly and cheerful when Jasper was upset like this; though Edward didn't look much different, or sound it.

"Talk? Oh, okay then." He turned around again and swept up around a hundred records in one off of his bed, and piled them neatly on his desk. "You can sit down if you want."

I took his offer and relaxed onto the bed. "Anything in particular you wanted to talk about?" He asked, a small smile was set on his face. I'd seen Edward smile before, but only once. From all the visions I'd watched off them, I'd only seen Edward smile once. It was unbelievable. Now he was smiling before me. It made me smile, too.

"Not really. I don't like being on my own, that's all."

"Why's that?"

I hesitated for a moment, then, "I don't know."

Edward looked confused.

"It's just...I don't know...I don't like being on my own. I've been on my own too long, I suppose."

"Oh. Yes. That could be it...I suppose. How's Jasper?"

But neither of us payed attention to the question. Rosalie had started arguing with Carlisle; an irrelevant conversation before, both of us had been blanking it out.

"Don't lie to me Carlisle!" Rosalie shouted.

Carlisle replied calmly, "I'm not. We're going to be fine."

"Right. So fifty people see us? They know exactly what we are! Have you not...noticed how many more stupid stories have been coming out? We're breaking the one rule we have to live by! No, sorry, _we're_ not, are we? _They are!_"

I flinched at her words. Edward looked extremley annoyed, got up with a loud sigh, and sat next to me on the bed.

"Ignore her." He said. "She over-reacts. She's definitley blonde..."

There was a growl above us for Edward's words. Edward dropped his head into his hands, and ran his fingers through his already tousled hair.

"Rosalie. Stop it." Carlisle said. She hadn't stopped growling yet.

"So what if they get us killed? Hmm? What happens then? That Aro person already wants Edward! How long has Edward been with you? Mind reading and visions? Visions of the future? He's going to love you! He'll beg them to join him; it'll just give him more of a reason to attack us!"

"Aro has no reason to attack, and Aro will not. You shouldn't make assumptions."

"She has visions of the future! If he went mad at Edward's gift he's going to at _her's!_"

Carlisle took a long, deep breath. When he spoke again, he sounded a lot like he was containing his anger. "If the time comes when we meet the Volturi again, then so be it. Aro will not be taking Edward, and he will _definitley _not be taking Alice. Not while she's with me. Not while she's under the protection of this family."

"She's going to get us all killed..." Rosalie muttered as she began to walk from the room. "If it's not from those visions of hers it'll be from that uncontrollable boyfriend."

"Rosalie! I've had worse with you! Now get out!" Carlisle shouted. The whole house heard it.

With a series of bangs and crashes, Rosalie returned to her shared bedroom with Emmett.

"Who's Aro?" I asked, my voice shook, I'd never been this scared like this before in my life. I couldn't see a clear vision of whatever they had been talking about; it was blurs and uncertainties. Yet I saw myself through flash visions with Edward. My reflection was wide-eyed, and visibly scared. Tears watered in my eyes, but never fell. Edward reached out, and pulled me into his arms like a brother.

"No one for you to worry about." He answered.

I fitted into Edward's lap like a child would. He held me tighter at his words and a strange emotion washed over me. "I want to know. Just tell me."

Edward sighed. "He's an old friend of Carlisle's. It was where Carlisle lived for a few years, if he mentioned that to you. When Carlisle left, he promised to keep in touch with Aro, and Aro's coven: The Volturi. Carlisle stuck to his word. When he found me, he told Aro. Aro wanted to see me, and so he did, and...he discovered my power, gift, whatever you want to call it. He'd never say it to Carlisle, or at least not at the time, how much he wanted me in his coven after that. I'd found out in his thoughts that he wanted me. He thought I'd be a great help to their 'cause'; said I was a 'magnificent' creation. I declined him in person, and of course, that led to Carlisle finding out. They don't really speak much anymore thanks to that.

"Carlisle said that I was free to do whatever I wanted, that I wasn't bound to him. Non of us are." He continued. "I understand he said earlier, that Aro wouldn't be taking you. That he implied Aro wouldn't be coming near you whilst the family, and of course himself, were looking after you. But if you wanted to go, you could. You could go with Aro if you wanted."

I shook my head too quickly and Edward looked down on me with concern. "You don't even know what they're like...you might like them."

"No. I know who they are. "I remembered the visions of the black cloaked people with blood red eyes. Remembered seeing them every time I tried to do something, when I was at a cross-roads, I'd see them at at least one side of the road. "They wear black cloaks, don't they?"

"Only when they're about to-"

"Alice? Can I have a word?" Carlisle came in through the doorway. I nodded, and Edward released me.

**Thanks to Katheran for the info, awaiting your next review ;D Hope you liked the chapter, have a good time reviewing too? ;)**


	42. Chapter 42

**Awesome reviews :D Shame, I've been ill. I really wanted to get the chapter out to you sooner for all the reviews you gave me, guys :) Five reviews at least again please and here's your next chapter!**

Carlisle led me into his study. I'd been here more than once in my visions. It was a lot clearer and open than I'd thought of it as being.

"Sounds like Edward's told you enough." He said, taking a seat at his desk.

There were no other chairs in the room but I'd already seated myself on one of the desks. Carlisle's awkward smile didn't break.

"I know the Volturi." I said.

"I know. Well, know I do of course. I presume you saw them?"

I nodded. "They were always there when I went to do something. I had no constantly run from them until I learnt my basic ways."

Carlisle nodded slowly and looked away. He made a point of staring at the papers on his desk until I took notice of them myself.

"What're they?" I asked.

"Ideas. Places. People I know."

"Like?"

But a vision answered my question before Carlisle could even open his mouth._ London. Carlisle walking down an old, cobbled street until he reaches a turning. Then hills. Hills I'd never imagined would exist in London. And just in the distance...the top of a house. A house surrounded by fields and reaching high above the tree's. _

"London." I said.

Carlisle half smiled. "We need to move."

"You don't. Not for us. We'll go. We've caused enough-"

"Alice. You have no intentions of leaving us. I can see it in your eyes. We'll be in London by next week."

I smiled and jumped off the table to hug him.

"I hope I haven't spoilt the surprise by making my desicion. You'd have seen it, wouldn't you?"

I shrugged. "I can't see the house. I just know that there's quite a lot of land around it. It's big and just off one of London's roads..." Another image filled my mind. Flicking from memory's of the house to visions of Edward and Emmett in school boy uniforms. "And you're going to send us to school." I added, fighting a grin at the sight of my new brothers in their uniforms.

It wasn't _bad. _Just unusual. Uniform wasn't something I'd seen a lot of and now my vision was allowing me to see other children and teenagers piling in through two sets of high wooden doors. They both wore a long sleeve, black jumper with a sun emblem on their chests. Their white shirts beneath were unbuttoned so that their collars spalyed out onto their shoulders. They both wore knee length grey shorts and high white socks.

"I'm not wearing that!" The door flung open and Edward fell into the room.

Carlisle was laughing. "It's time you went to school again, Edward. It gives you something to do and it educates you."

"I'm clever enough!" Edward said in his defence.

I jumped from Carlisle's lap and wrapped my arms around Edward. "Don't worry, Eddy. It's not going to be that bad, is it?"

Edward began tickling me. "Yes it is! It's only because you don't have to wear it!"

I squirmed away and hid behind Carlisle's chair. Carlisle watched us both for a few seconds with a grin on his face and then looked to Edward. "Can you go and inform the others please? We're leaving the day after next and I'd like to be in London for next week."

Edward stared, open mouthed, at Carlisle for a while. "We're going back to London?"

"I thought you could tell from the uniform." Carlisle said innocently.

Edward grimaced. "I knew it was England. Those ridiculous uniforms...really. I didn't know we were going back to London though. I suppose it's better than-"

"_London!_" Emmett shouted. He vaulted over Edward's shoulders and barely missed knocking several papers off Carlisle's desk. His voice was estatic; it was clear he'd never been away from America in his lifetime. The uniforms and idea of school was only a good thing to him.

"Yes, Emmett, London." Carlisle answered calmly with a smile.

* * *

Everybody was packed up and ready to go. Carlisle had arranged the flight only a few minutes after we'd all left his study.

I'd broken the attic door, as promised, to get Jasper out. Emmett and Edward picked up an arm each and dragged him from the attic together. Wary as they were, I assured them Jasper was not going to attack. He wanted to talk to me anyway. I made my two brothers carry Jasper into our bare bedroom where there was no choice but to put him onto the floor. Everything else was piled high into boxes and even crates.

As soon as they'd put him down they both messed up my hair, or tapped my shoulder, and left. Jasper looked at the floor and began picking away at it.

"Jazz." I said.

He didn't look up.

"We can talk. Or I can force you to talk." I said, playfully.

He looked up once with half a challenging smile and looked down at the floor again. Within a second of his smile I dived onto him.

"See." I said, lifting up his chin. "I can force you!"

"I don't really see this as forcing me into saying anything." Jasper said. His voice, every note, seemed like music. It was perfect and tranquil. It was every reasurance my ears needed to hear.

I leant into him and rest my head on his chest. He straightened out his legs so it was more comfortable for us both, and wrapped his arms around me.

"Well," I said. "This is an improvement. Wouldn't you agree?"

Jasper shrugged.

"You're communicating. You're talking."

"I said a few words." He complained.

I smiled wider. "And then you said a few more."

A smile broke out on his face; his arms reached out and moved almost invisibly at my sides sending me into fits of laughter. I squirmed helplessly; he'd trapped me already.

After a few minutes of the torture he stopped. I fell limp onto his stone chest; my legs fell each side of his body. Slowly he reached out and pulled me up straighter by my arms, lifting up my head and smiling at me.

"You're not angry with me." He said simply.

I curled my legs up so I could support myself and stared at him as bluntly as I could. "I never was. And you knew it."

"I was waiting until you felt angry. I was an idiot in the clearing. I was horrible, and stupid, and careless and now everyone's moving because of it."

I snorted. "You shouldn't think so highly of yourself." I joked. "We're not leaving for your sake. We're leaving for all of us. We're leaving because Carlisle looks so much younger than he's acting; he wants to enroll his children into school, and he wants a new start where we can all be included. I've already packed your things."

The smile had not disapeared from Jasper's face. His eyes were locked onto mine with every word I said; I don't think I could have looked away. No longer were they intimidating or even something to fear. The vivid red had recently died down into a clouded amber, his flawless skin was the most beautiful shade of ivory I'd ever seen. In every way I could imagine he was perfect. Lying here sent tingles I'd never experienced shooting up my spine. I felt jubilant just to be enclosed in his muscular arms; I felt like I could lie here forever.

"You know, Alice. You're possibly the most wonderful person I've ever met."

"I know." I said, grinning. "And it's going to get a lot better."

* * *

"Carlisle! Carlisle? Where's Alice?" I heard Esme shouting me over the crowds.

I began to run through the crowds silently until I reached them. "Here." I said.

Esme smiled in relief. "So many people!"

Jasper was stood ridgid by my side. He'd stopped breathing completley once we'd arrived and stuck as close to be as he possibly could. Rosalie stood protectivley in front of Emmett who was speaking animatedly to Edward. Carlisle and Esme guided us ahead as we went to board our plane.

* * *

The plane journey went quickly. Half way through I leant on Jasper's chest and pretended to sleep just for the calm atmosphere that seemed to settle around the two of us. I tried making up with Rosalie to no avail; in the end Carlisle had to tell me to go and sit down. He'd said it wasn't going to work.

We arrived on the outskirts of London and made a slow way up to the center. Carlisle led us along the old cobbled road I'd seen in my vision. We were already far off the main roads and busy streets. The area wasn't lower-class or even poor. The houses were tall and grande; curtains swayed as we passed. People walked by in expensive clothes and dresses and tried their hardest not to stare at our passing figures.

After a few minutes we crossed onto a dusty path. Not far along the houses began disapearing; the path was surrounded by a small, crumbling wall and fields. We cut into a forest and came off the road once again. After climbing a steep bank we came up onto another dusty road and at the far end stood our new home. The new family home.

**I'm not that good with fluff, I know. I'm reading some more and trying to get a little better at it. So you've got that to look forward to. You've got the school days to look forward to. Girls and uniforms and trying to look cool. Homework and detentions and explaining to Carlisle how they had to run away from the whip because it would have broke on their skin and caused a bit of confusion. Now, how are they going to explain that? Alice's fashion and shopping boom. Designers. Design_ing. _You've got lots to look forward to and the quicker and more you review the quicker and better the chapters will come :) Review!**


	43. Chapter 43

**Didn't have reviews? Wasn't too keen on the chapter, didn't think it was very good myself so I'm going to have to make up for it now :)**

All around the house lay a dusty, sandy coloured rubble. The house was about three storeys tall; this time, there was no glass window in view, though the house wasn't a normal shape. The front was a square face, pointing out at you, almost intimidating you with it's size, around the back it curved and cut in, and eventually, protuded out again like a strange 'L' shape. The windows were large and clear, leaving the house refreshing and open.

"Wow." I said, smiling.

Rosalie was trying her hardest not to look too happy about the our new house and area. She clung onto Emmett who comforted her whilst trying to speak to Edward still. They had changed the subject onto who was getting what bedroom.

"I guess whatever I pick Alice is going to want." Edward turned and smirked at me.

I grinned at him. "Well."

"I've got more than one bedroom with a good view this time." Carlisle said as he led us ino the house.

Firstly, you entered a grand hall. It opened out, with wooden flooring, onto several different rooms. On the left was the staircase, turning several different ways before reaching the top; on the left stood no door, but just a long, tall hole. It was bordered by a dull gold wood, and opened out into the living room. Here was where the wall curved slightly. It matched the room well, wide windows, light colours, and a television.

"Rosalie, I tried to match more of your...criteria this time. Well, Esme did." Carlisle smiled at Esme, she leaned into him lovingly.

Rosalie smiled for the first time, and ran up the stairs. I decided I'd see her room later.

"I'm going to see the bedrooms." I said, and headed up the stairs.

Edward and Jasper followed me. Downstairs you could hear Esme and Carlisle talking in the kitchen, discussing the house, the seperate rooms and what they looked like. Esme explained how she wanted them, how she'd planned on doing them. Emmett was fiddling with the television downstairs, making loud sounds of approval and apprieciation.

"This one's mine." I said on the first room I entered.

I'd seen all the other rooms in my visions as I climbed the stairs. I'd seen them all in less than a second, and gone directly to the one I wanted. Edward, being able to see them also, had no problem with this one. By the look on his face he had his eyes set on a very different one.

The one we all stood in, and now my bedroom was quite similar to the one at home, and yet different in so many other ways. It was square, the two furthest walls made from glass, and panelled in a georgian style. The large, double bed faced the door, with a small pouffe running along the end of the bed. To the right were a set of chester drawers, on the the wall were a set of closed doors. I walked up to them with a smile and opened them. Inside stood several rows of hangers and racks, all holding clothes of different types, colours and designs. At the far end was a wall-sized mirror and desk with several chairs running along it.

I squealed in excitement and Edward laughed. "I didn't know you liked clothes so much."

I started walking up and down the isles a little too quickly for a normal pace, running my hands across the clothes, staring at them and planning my outfits for weeks. "I didn't know I did, really." I said, my voice very calm. "But shopping makes me happy. I can't wait to go on my own. It's going to be so _fun!" _I squealed again at a floor length dress. On it was a tag,

_Alice,_

_Love Carlisle x_

_"Oh my-Isn't that _gorgeous_?" _

Jasper followed me around the huge wardrobe until I handed him some clothes to change into (there were curtains either end of the room, behind each one was another mirror, a desk, and pegs to hang your clothing. It was obviously a changing room) and went to change myself.

* * *

Emmett was still watching the television by the end of the day, this time with Rosalie curled up next to him, Edward was messing with his piano at the other side of the room; Carlisle, Esme and Jasper had gone hunting. I sat on the stool of Edward's piano watching him, unsurprisingly bored.

"I'm bored." Rosalie said.

I nodded lazily. "And me."

Emmett turned off the TV with a sigh and sat up and Edward turned around.

"Emmett - no." He said.

Emmett laughed loudly. "Why not? Alice has never played it before. In fact, I doubt she's even heard of it. It'll be a laugh."

My head filled with a vision of only a few minutes away. _We all sat on the floor in the living room and Emmett was speaking. He speaking to Rosalie who shook her head and looked at the floor, embarrassed while we all laughed. Suddenly, a bottle appeared in the middle of us. Edward stood up...Edward ran..._I didn't understand. What were we doing?

"You're giving Alice confusing visions, Emmett. Stop changing your mind on which game to play...and what dares you're going to choose. Emmett. Stop it. You're confusing her."

Emmett finally took his mind off playing the game and the visions stopped. I looked around, confused.

"He wants to play truth or dare."

Rosalie jumped up excitedly. "Yes! We're playing that!"

"Who's explaining the game to Alict then?" Emmett said, already seating himself where I'd visioned us all. Rosalie joined him.

"I will then." Edward said.

It took him less than five minutes to explain how to play. We seated ourselves in the circle and Emmett started on Edward.

"Right. I'm going first. I thought of the game."

"Carlisle's going to kill us..." Edward muttered.

"He can't kill us." Rosalie muttered, quite obviously.

Emmett ignored both of them, clearly deep in thought. "I dare you to..."

"Oi! You haven't given me truth or dare option!"

Emmett sighed. "Fine. Truth or dare, Eddie?"

"Don't call me that." Edward muttered. "And just to annoy you, I'm going to say truth now."

Emmett jumped half a foot off the ground. "You can't do that!" He shouted. The floor shook as he came back down.

"Yes I can. Now my truth, please?"

"Fine." Emmett grumbled before a smile lit his voice. "You got a thing for Alice?"

My composure broke and I stared at him, open mouthed. Edward seemed to have had quite the same reaction.

"No!...No offence, Alice."

"Non taken." I muttered.

"Oh, c'mon! You were chatting her up so badly the other day!"

"How was I?"

"When Rosalie was having that fit in front of Carlisle and Alice was with you! _'I just want to talk'_" He mimicked.

Edward hit him round the back of the head and Emmett dived on him. Rosalie sighed and rest her head on her hands. "Just wait." She said, though she didn't seem to be talking to me. "First we play truth or dare...then they end up play fighting...then they end up denting the floor...then they end up getting told off...then they end up stopping us from being able to play the game...then we all get told off when we do...Alice." I turned to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Can you look...if like, Carlisle's going to tell us off when he gets back?"

"I don't know." I admitted.

And before I could try there was a loud cracking noise. Both Rosalie and I turned in the direction of the noise. Emmett had chucked Edward across the room; Edward crashed into a set or drawers and the whole thing had smashed to pieces.

"Oh, well done!" Rosalie shouted across the room at him.

"That wasn't my fault." Edward said quickly and charged at Emmett.

Just before he got to him he jumped, taking Emmett off-guard, and twisted his arms behind him. Emmett did a backwards flip, kicking Edward off and falling with a loud bang on the floor with both feet. Two deep dents stuck into the wood; Edward started backing off quickly.

"Oh for God's sake! Pack it in already! Me and Alice want to actually _play _you know!" Rosalie shouted at them.

Edward smirked as Emmett examined the damage. "Sit on it." Edward said.

"And don't move all night?" Emmett laughed and sat over one of the dent marks.

Edward sat over the other.

"I don't have a thing for Alice." He confirmed with a smile at me. "Alice, truth or dare?"

"Truth." I said, scared of what one of their dares would be.

"Scared?" Emmett said. I wondered for a second whether the emotion was obvious on my face, or whether he was just guessing. I shrugged anyway.

"Err - have you got a thing for Jasper? I know...I'm not trying to make a pattern here...I just need to know."

I should've blushed. The colour in my cheeks should have changed to a rosy pink, and I should have looked down with embarrassment. But I didn't. I just said, "Yes." and looked directly into Edward's eyes.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "I expected-"

"Does it matter?" Rosalie said impatiently.

Everybody looked at her.

"Rosalie, truth or dare." I asked her.

She smiled, pleased she's got what she wanted. "Dare."

I turned to Edward and Emmett for inspiration and they both smiled cruelly.

"Kiss Edward."

"Tell Carlisle-"

They both said at the same time. Then, "_What?_" From Edward.

Emmett burst out with laughter. "Yeah. Kiss for a whole minute. With tongues."

"No way!" Edward shouted. "Rosalie - call Carlisle and tell him you just broke your record."

"That's boring." Emmett muttered.

Rosalie didn't say anything. It was obvious she agreed with Emmett, yet she didn't want to kiss Edward either.

"What record?" I asked.

"You know of our records!" Edward said.

"The ones on how much human blood you've drank?" I asked.

Emmett laughed. "In fact, can you imagine Carlisle? He'd be on the floor...you'd give him a heart attack if it were possible."

"Exactly. It'd be funny!" Edward said, obviously pleased with himself.

"Yes, but we wouldn't _see _him breaking down, would we?" Emmett argued.

"We would!" Edward said.

"_We _would." I corrected him. "Only us two, Edward. Rosalie, your dare is to kiss Edward."

"For a minute?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.

"Yeah."

"With tongues?"

"Yeah."

"Ugh." Rosalie groaned, but leaned over none the less.

As their lips met Emmett scowled, still leaning back to get a better view.

"Tongues!" He reminded them.

Rosalie moaned again with frustration and forced Edward into working with her. Both shut their eyes, refusing to look at each other until it was over.

"There!" She said. And Carlisle walked into the room.

**I know there's a lot of speech there, but I wanted a truth or dare chapter :) There'll be more in the future - if you want certain things to happen, tell me! E-mail or review, I don't care, we have decades to fill up :D If you want certain events to happen or truth or dare ideas - anything, just send me a message and I'll put it in :D And of course, review if you don't even have an idea. Next chapter up soon :)**


	44. Chapter 44

**Thanks to Wink and Nodd - I think I spelt that right :) - your reviews are helpful and have made me smile :) None the less:**

**Need. Reviews. Need. Reviews. Need. Reviews.**

"Edward - Rosalie? Well. I thought you detested each other? You shouldn't hide your feelings one another if this is what it's going to come to."

Rosalie rocked back on her heels and Edward froze. "Carlisle." She said, faking a happiness.

"Rosalie." Carlisle said back, and walked the rest of the way into the living room. It was obvious his eyes had picked up the damage done to the room. The smashed chester drawers, moved furniture; his eyes scanned the room looking for dents and further damage.

Esme entered after him and froze in the doorway, staring from the chester drawers to Emmett to Edward and back to the wooden wreck. Jasper followed in, his eyes a dull red; he stood behind me surveying the room and calming both Carlisle and Esme down.

"Truth or dare again?" Esme finally asked.

Emmett watched the floor uncomfortably and made to get up to apologise. Edward pushed him back down again before either of them could catch sight of the dent he was sat above.

"I liked those drawers." Esme said, walking over to them.

"You're lucky it's the only thing they broke." Rosalie said.

I stood up and leaned against Jasper, trying to see what was going to happen next. I was unsure of whether I could control it as of yet. Whether the visions came of their own accord, or whether I had to focus on whatever I wanted to see.

_Edward and Emmett were sat up. We were all sitting on the sofa..._The vision played itself out in quick flashes of still pictures, sometimes short movements played themselves through, sometimes not. Soon the vision was over - none of us were going to get really told off. Especially not me.

Edward looked at me knowingly and got up. Rosalie glared at him. "I'm not sitting there all night!"

Emmett stood up after him. "Nor me then."

Esme stared, open mouthed and wide eyed, at the two dents in her new floor. In the same second Edward and Emmett ran from the room, jumping out of the open door and out into the backyard. Rosalie crawled up onto the sofa, struggling not to laugh at the two off them.

"I'm not even going to bother." Carlisle said simply. Esme ran to the damage and Rosalie sauntered outside to the others.

* * *

We all sat on the sofa with Carlisle stood over us. Despite his stance, he wasn't angry with any of us, yet felt it only right that he told us off somehow.

Rosalie looked extremley annoyed, as if she knew this was going to be the outcome of our short-lived game; Edward looked longingly at his piano which Carlisle had dragged him away from to be sat here now, and Emmett looked unsurprisingly bored. Emmett didn't care; he was one big kid.

"Well." Carlisle said, and sat down on the coffee table in front of us. "Umm - I banned you from playing that game." He said awkwardly. He didn't enjoy telling us off, or even trying, especially if it was for something he wasn't _that _bothered about.

"We know." Rosalie said, sounding bored.

Carlisle looked at the floor. "Do you know why I banned you from playing that game?"

"Yes." Edward said.

"Ever since you found out about that game...when was it? A year ago? It's ended badly, hasn't it?"

"Not every time." Emmett said as if he was defending a small child. Edward and Rosalie glared at him, though I was unsure why, and Carlisle raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, then, Emmett. Every time I've heard about."

"Well done, Emmett." Rosalie hissed.

"Anyway, that - that doesn't matter, does it? The games caused more damage again and I don't want you playing it. I don't know what I have to do to get you to understand, okay? But - I - don't - want - you - playing - it."

Carlisle made to get up but Emmett punched the sofa agressivley like a young child, and sat up straight in his chair. "It's not fair though! We can't play anything else!"

Carlisle sat back down and opened his mouth to talk but Emmett butted in again.

"You banned up from playing baseball - you wouldn't let us playfight - not even outside - then you stopped us playing tag - like we really cared about that one though, that was boring - and _then _you stop us playing truth or dare! What do you expect us to do all day and night? Edward's got his stupid piano and his crappy music, but then when does that help any of us? It just depresses everyone by him playing all of that depressing music - and Rosalie, you've got your hair and clothes and make-up to ponder over all day and now you've got those cars that Carlisle's bought you to play with-"

"Emmett - shut - up!" Edward shouted, as Carlisle had been opening and shutting his mouth in an attempt to make his point for the past five minutes of Emmett's rant.

"I do not look at myself in the mirror all day!" Rosalie hit Emmett on the chest lightly.

"And I do not play depressing music! It's just what everyone plays!"

"_Blues? _Yeah, because that doesn't sound depressing, does it?" Emmett argued.

I leant back in my seat and waited for the arugment to will out. Each of them were shouting at each other so loudly you'd think they'd been raised by wild animals. Finally Edward punched Emmett in the arm and Emmett lunged back at him, beginning the fight. Rosalie sighed, tugged on my arm and pulled me away while Carlisle split the two up.

"Fighting. Great way to act when we're already in trouble." She muttered.

Esme walked in, the expression on her face unfathomable. She'd been talking to Jasper for the best part of the hour, though what about, none of us knew, as none of us had been paying attention. As she came nearer the only emotion I could see that flickered through her eyes was disapointment leaving a heavy weight of guilt in your stomach.

"Sit down." Carlisle said calmly, and Edward and Emmett sat opposite ends of the sofa. Rosalie sat inbetween them, and I went to stand next to Esme. I didn't want to be in the middle of another defeaning argument or fight, and, even though it would only take a second, I couldn't be bothered to see if there would be another one. I was quite content stood in Esme's shadow; it even eased the small amount of guilt that had taken over my insides.

"I banned you from playing baseball, Emmett, because it sounded a little strange to the rest of the people in the town. If you hadn't noticed, every time you hit the ball it made such a noise of what some kind of earthquake or bomb would. It was too conspicious. And what did playfighting always result in? Real fighting. You almost killed Edward-"

"That was only because I was...strong at the time." Emmett stated, hanging his head slightly. Though Edward hadn't seemed to have forgetten this event, and glared at Emmett without quite looking at him.

"Strong or not, you're still much...burlier than the others, Emmett. We may be indestructable to some forces but our own kind isn't one of them. I'm not letting any of you get hurt." I noticed him side-ways glance at me, and by the look on the others faces, so did they. I couldn't help being tiny. Though looking at the size of Emmett, I definitley did not want to be in one of his fights - play or not. "If you didn't like the tag game, I don't know why you're moaning about it-"

"Thunder." I said out of nowhere.

Well, not quite out of nowhere. The thought had came to me suddenly. Carlisle was talking...and then I'd seen it. I'd seen us playing baseball...but in the thunder. Why were we playing in the thunder?

"What?" Carlisle asked, confused.

Everybody stopped and stared at me, even Edward, though rather than looking confused he was grinning. "She's a genius." Edward said.

I smiled myself. "Err - techinally it wasn't me."

"Of course it was." Edward said, turning to explain to the others what I still didn't understand.

"We have to play baseball in the thunder. That way the humans will think it's part of the storm..."

"I'm not following." Emmett said.

Edward was possibly grinning even wider. He turned in his seat to face everyone. "We can't play baseball because we're too loud. The sound of us hitting the ball...of us chasing each other and colliding and...yes, well basically, we're so loud it was draw too much attention. We sound like a battering ram, or a...mountain collapsing..._or _a thunder storm. If we play when the weather is bad enough, the humans will think it's just a particularly bad storm. They'll think nothing more of the loud bangs and clashes, they won't go investigating...we won't get caught."

Emmett jumped up in his seat enthusiastically; Carlisle caught him before he whacked back down and broke the floor.

"Hate to brake the excitment and stuff, but how are we going to know when the weather's going to be bad? I'm not just going to go all the way out to a field to play if the storm lasts two minutes." Rosalie said, still sounding bored.

"Well, I would have suggested the television, but we've got our own little weather forecaster, and she's a lot more reliable." Jasper had appeared in the doorway looking a lot happier than I'd ever seen him so far. He walked over to us, obviously pleased that he'd now put a grin on everyones face, placed his hands on my shoulder. "Alice. Next thunderstorm, please."

**I know, fairly short chapter. Wanted to bring baseball in...even though they're in England. Yes, I know, we don't play baseball in England. So why would the Cullen's? Why not play England's rounders? Because I find rounders boring :D And they'd only know how to play baseball anyway. I, personally, have absolutley no idea how baseball is played. Okay, I have a rough idea, but it's pretty vague. I'll look it up though any help would be appreciated :) **

**And remember! If you want me to include an idea, even if it sounds stupid, or if it's just really tiny or might sound a bit boring when you say it to yourself; if you have games or things the Cullen's could do that you want to include or just...anything. Email or review it. I'll include it :)**


	45. Chapter 45

**Reviews :D Thank you Thank you Thank you :) Katheran: I'm going up until the moment Stephenie Meyer herself left us hanging :) There will be this chapter, a small skip, another chapter, and then we'll be going to when they moved to Forks. I can't fill years of Cullen family stuff, I don't have the time, and it'd get boring. So there you are :)**

It was at least another _month _until a thunderstorm came along (we were all preparing for it, as it was tomorrow). Not too many of us were bothered by the wait, though, as time went much quicker than it did to a normal person. Emmett and Carlisle were busying themselves through catalogs and television stations filled with information on baseball; buying clothes and caps and equipment. Edward and Rosalie spent a lot of their time in garage, like Emmett had originally predicted, staring at fancy cars and discussing their features, their glossy coats, and light-weight engines. I failed to see how any of this was that good, neither of the cars in the garage appealed to me. Esme spent a lot of the time perfecting the house; cleaning it spotless and busying herself looking through newspapers for jobs and schools.

Jasper and I joined in on the seperate activites, though I noticed he enjoyed spending a lot of time with me. I didn't complain. Helping Esme around the house, playing games with Edward or Emmett, or dressing up with Rosalie were all fun things to do, but none of them gave me the strange butterfly feeling I got in my stomach when I was with Jasper. My head went all fuzzy, and I could concentrate on nothing but him. I could only see him: see his flawless, ivory skin. His golden, tousled hair, falling just above his shoulders. His eyes, bright with their new, amber-like colour; alive everytime they looked into mine. Everytime I looked into his eyes it felt like I was being lifted ten feet off the ground and I never wanted to come back down.

Everytime you looked at him you could see the battle scars he'd been forced to live through. Except, whenever I looked at him, they seemed invisible. He _w_as perfect. He was perfect in every possible way.

It was early morning sometime at the end of August. Most of the family were grouped in the living room, talking together. I leaned against Jasper on the sofa and he accepted me by wrapping his arms around my torso. I smiled up at him reassuringly.

"Tell you what." Emmett said, faking frustration. "If I had Jasper's gift right now I'd be using it on you pair." Everyone looked at him to see who he was on about. "It's so obvious you like each other-"

"Emmett." Carlisle warned.

Emmett was talking about me and Jasper. I'd almsot forgotton Jasper's gift. Of course, it was known somewhere in my mind, I'd never really forgotton, but it was easy to ignore when it had no effect on you whatsoever.

"If you could just...boost it or something? It'd be as unbearable for you pair as it is for us to watch." He smirked. "Then you'd be on top of each other like-"

"Emmett." Carlisle said again, and Emmett dropped back down.

"It's just a point!"

I looked at Jasper. I was sure, if he could be, he'd be blushing. I could feel it in my own cheeks, no burning sensation but a strange rushing, like my cheeks were filling with a pink, rosy colour. Suddenly I realised Jasper was having an effect on me. It seemed though, that he couldn't help it. Inside I wasn't embarrassed about what Emmett had said. Deep inside, where I was in control of myself, I wasn't embarrassed, but on the outside I was. Jasper.

All of a sudden I was scared. What if, without realising it, I only loved Jasper because he was pushing it onto me? _I _never loved him.

Jasper looked at me confused at my new emotion. I shook myself mentally. Stupid thought. But just to check I looked. It sounded weird, saying you looked into your heart. You looked deep inside you. And yet it was true. I looked.

I was in love with Jasper Whitlock.

In a second his smile turned into a grin. It was my turn to look up to him in confusion. Surely he hadn't _just _felt I was in love with him?

"I don't get it." Emmett continued to moan. "Jasper's so obviously in love with her she's got to feel it. The rest of us can, for God's sake. He can't keep it to himself...and he knows she loves him. Can't he feel the emotions around him as well as mess with them-?"

"Emmett will you shut up?" Edward said.

Emmett grinned. "I'm just trying to prove a point...while making it sound like I'm talking to myself. If I don't talk _to _them, how can I get told off?"

"You don't sound like you're talking to yourself. Shut up." He said, not taking his eyes off the television.

"What if I don't want to."

"Emmett - don't start." Carlisle sighed.

"Don't start what?" He asked innocently.

Rosalie pushed his head to the ground. "Shut up."

"But-"

"School." Esme said out of the blue.

Everybody turned in her direction. Even me and Jasper who had been watching one another for the past ten minutes.

"Good change of subject." Carlisle said simply, a smile on his face.

"You'll be starting Monday. Won't that be fun?"

"Alice." Rosalie said. I turned to to her. "Alice, please tell me it's sunny on Monday."

It took me a second for me to answer her question. "No, it's going to be torrential."

"Oh, even better!" Emmett grinned.

Rosalie hit him round the back of the head.

"I've got your uniforms; you can try them on if you want...Alice, Jasper, you won't be going yet of course. Exceptional as both of you are,"-Jasper snorted quietly, and hid his face in my hair-"Your eyes are still turning golden, and it's not likley you'll be able to deal with school yet. It's very..."

"Mouth-watering." Emmett said.

Rosalie and Edward laughed. Carlisle glared at him, warning him, giving him what looked like his last chance.

"Do we have to wear uniform?" Edward asked.

"It's sweet." Esme answered, shining.

Edward laughed. "I've seen it. It's not."

Esme never answered. She dragged them all out of the room to try on their uniforms; Carlisle exited swiftly afterwards, leaving me and Jasper to our own devices...

* * *

Sunday morning came quickly. I was in some kind of shock until the first of the light dawned. It was strange. I couldn't focus on anything. I couldn't think about anybody else, or do anything else, and yet I'd done something so...small. It was stupid really.

"You kissed Jasper!" Emmett taunted. He ran into our room with Edward and dived on the bed, while Edward walked over and sat down almost _politley. _

"I didn't tell him." He said, smiling at me.

Rosalie walked in afterwards. "He told me though." She said. I tried not to glare at Rosalie. "But I didn't tell Emmett."

"How _do _you know?" I asked him as he rolled around on my bed like an overgrown toddler.

"Heard it obviously." He grinned.

"Don't feel self-conscious." Rosalie said, finally sitting herself on the end of my bed. She seemed to be much warmer towards me recently, and I wondered what had caused the change. Was she just going to learn to live with me? "He had his ear to the door all the time Esme was trying to shove his clothes at him."

"In the end - didn't she try and dress you?" Edward started laughing.

Emmett punched him playfully, but still ended up knocking him off the bed. Edward jumped up, dived on Emmett, and they both crashed down on the other side of the bed.

"You're a lot more playful since Alice came along, you know that?"

"You make me sound gay." Edward muttered, avoiding another punch off Emmett.

"I have wondered..."

Edward swung his fist round; Emmett dodged just in time and Edwards fist smashed into his shoulder. Still, both of them were laughing.

Esme walked in with a sports bag and sporty clothes on, looked at the boys and sighed. "Will you two get off each other? I've never seen you fight so much than lately."

Edward got up and Emmett followed. The pair of them sat on our bed again. "We're not fighting." Edward said.

"We're playing." Emmett agreed.

"That sounds so childish." Rosalie muttered.

"I don't care whether it's fighting or playing. I've never seen you two do so much of it-"

"Told you." Emmett interrupted.

"...Alice's love life is none of your buisness, but helping Carlisle and myself downstairs is. Come on."

* * *

Carlisle took us out onto a huge field a few miles from the home. It stretched for a good way, on the opposite side to the clearing we entered on was a sketchy path and a far-stretched lake; the entire field was surrounded in high, towering trees.

The sky overhead was an opaque sheet of grey. Emmett looked up, expecting the thunder and lighting to crash onto him, but nothing happened. In the same second, he stared at me.

"It _will _happen. Just...It's going to happen in a few minutes."

Rosalie and Emmett looked disbelieving.

Edward, Esme Carlisle and Jasper started setting up the bases, three or four times the distance of normal play.

"How are we going to split?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah." Emmett said, running up to join us with the rest. "There's an odd number."

"Alice is going to be bowler." Esme said. "Rose, Carlisle and Jasper against Emmett and Edward?"

Carlisle shook his head very quickly. "I'm not putting those two together."

"Jasper and Edward against Rose, Carlisle and Emmett."

Carlisle shrugged. "It's probably the best we can do."

Emmett grinned. "We'll beat you easy!"

"Don't be so sure." Edward muttered.

Emmett went to retaliate but I cut them all off. For their disbelief earlier, I would prove to them how good I really was. "It's time." I said, and the minute my words were from my mouth lightened crackled above our heads. Emmett looked up in awe as the thunder rumbled, announcing the storms true arrival, and then, like a child, he started jumping up and down. Unlike a child, he was jumping at least six foot off the ground with each bound.

Esme took her position behind the batter, I took my position pitching, and Carlisle, Rose and Emmett took field. Edward was batting first.

"I'm going to tip Alice on each one of you." Esme said before the game began. "It's only fair she's knows your tactics. Particularly you, Edward. You can read her like a book and she's left with a blank spot."

Edward grinned, throwing the bat into the air impatiently and catching it.

"He's the fastest." Esme told me. I already knew this piece of information, and for a minute, wondered if she was going to tell me anything I _didn't _know. "He won't hit the ball far-"

"Thanks." Edward muttered.

Esme continued. "But he'll run very, very fast."

I didn't know Edward wasn't going to hit the ball very far. I hadn't seen anything of that type when looking for the game. I was trying my hardest not to see the results.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"He'll cheat."

"I will not!" Edward shouted.

Emmett started laughing. "You will. Esme's right. You'll do anything to win. Sore loser!"

Edward ignored them both, a look of determination on his face, and stood ready to take the ball. I looked up at the sky and waited. Then, just as the lightening struck I threw the ball with as much force as I could. It was unlikely that any human would have seen the ball, it was flying through the air that fast. When it hit Edward's bat it made an ear-splitting cracking noise, the thunder rumbled, and the ball bounced back, flying into the air, over all our heads, and into the forest. Emmett ran.

Everybody watched as Edward started sprinting around the bases. Emmett was bounding towards the ball but it had landed in the lake. There was a huge splash and water went flying everywhere. Edward was on third base...Emmett threw the ball from the lake. Rosalie caught it the second Edward touched fourth base.

"Homerun!" Edward shouted.

Emmett ran back from the water scowling, flexing his muscles, and jumping from one foot to another waiting for Jasper to play.

Jasper took position. The lightening struck once more, I threw the ball. Jasper hit it with more force than Edward had by far. It went flying out into the trees...

Carlisle ran this time. He was jumping up into the trees and jumping through them with more pace than he had on foot. Jasper was already on second base...The ball was in Rosalie's hands before Jasper had met fourth base. He was running...half way between third and fourth...Rosalie was one stride away from the base. She dived as Jasper dived and they both smacked onto the base at the same time.

"Out!" Rosalie shouted.

Esme smiled. "In. Jasper was there a fraction of a second before you, Rosalie."

Jasper patted her shoulder as they got up and walked different ways. I couldn't see the expression on her face, though by the look on Emmett's, it wasn't a good one.

* * *

Emmett, Rose and Carlisle were batting. The thunder storm was almost out, it had been hours since we'd first arrived. This was the sixth game, each time the two teams demanded a re-match. Rosalie, Emmett and Carlisle were somehow losing by two games.

"Last game." Esme said.

Emmett started complaining loudly. "Why?"

"Because this is the sixth game you've played. We have to get home?"

"We have to get home for dinner." Emmett grumbled sarcastically.

Edward punched his shoulder playfully. "You're such a bad sport."

"The storms finishing anyway." I said to stop them starting another fight. "We have about fifteen minutes."

"That's no even enough time to finish one game." Carlisle said.

Emmett was determined it was; we went through another fifteen minutes of arguing, shouting, and disagreement, until the thunder stopped.

"Pack up." Was all Esme said. Edward, Emmett and Edward were staring daggers at one another.

**There you go. Your first game of baseball. I put in the arguments because Esme said they did argue. I might do a chapter for each decade until Bella comes along. Anybody know what year twilight was set in? Tell me if you do :) It'd be a big help! REVIEW! I re-did it because I forgot Jasper...If there are any mistakes, tell me. I've read through it and I can't notice any...Edited it again! Pitcher, not bowler! Sorry ;) Thank you Wink n Nodd :D**


	46. Chapter 46

**Right. So, I'm going to do a chapter for each decade. Some of them might be long, so some might take a little longer than usual to come out, but i'll do it as fast as I can. Be aware, I'm writing [including typing and hand-written] about 8,000 + words a DAY. It kills you sometimes but I enjoy doing it. First off is the 60's and it's Alice's wedding :D So excited about this chapter. I think it's going to be pretty long, but, here you go!**

I could count each second that went past as I lay here on my bed. The setting sun sending my pale skin into glittering rainbows against the far wall. I opened my eyes and watched the rainbows dance. On the same wall sat several large photo frames, each containing different people. The first, where the rainbow coloured their faces and clothes, stood a family photo. I'd insisted we had a photograph all together not long ago. We all stood together, smiling sweetly; looking angelic. Beneath were more family photographs, except this time, there were no Carlisle and Esme. We all stood in awkward ways, crouching or towering over each other, almost looking like a fight to get to the camera; each of us pulling a different face, messing around like children. Beside the two of them was the largest picture yet. The pairs skin seemed to sparkle through the frame, their smiles luminous, their faces glowing with emotion. Jasper and my own eyes watched my every move from their position in their frame.

At that moment my reason for existence stepped through the door. My world, my keeper of my heart, whatever other soppy (or romantic) phrase that you could name him as. His perfection felt like it should blind any normal human, and I was sure I was beginning to annoy everybody else in the house with it. Just a tiny bit. The sight of him as he walked up to my bed and picked me up brought back the memory I'd been unable to keep locked away for longer than five minutes sparking to the surface. I smiled as it replayed itself in my mind.

_- Memory - _

It was a casual day. Too sunny to go to school, too sunny to do anything at all. Carlisle and Esme sat on the sofa whilst my siblings and I sat on a circle on the floor, playing spin the bottle as innocently as we could. I'd noticed through the game that Jasper hadn't taken his eyes off me. He was making us all nervous for an unknown reason, and then, out of nowhere, Carlisle winked at him.

"Alice." Jasper said.

The game stopped. Edward, Carlisle and Esme were smiling.

"Can I show you a magic trick?" He asked.

I tried to see what he was going to do. I tried my hardest to get a vision, but nothing was coming. The options were blurred and different things crossed my mind too quickly for me to catch them.

"Umm, okay." I said.

He reached out and took my left hand. "Close your eyes." He said. I did as I was told. Slowly, I felt him tie a string to my third finger, and held the other end of the string in his.

A second passed and nothing happened, and then I felt the cold metal on my skin. I opened my eyes before I was allowed to and stared at the diamond ring that had placed itself onto my finger. "Alice? Will you marry me?"

I was sure, at that point, that I was unable to speak. My head was spinning; I couldn't focus with the amount of images and words flashing through my head.

And then, somehow, I managed to utter a single word. "Yes." I said, and everybody around us applauded.

_- Memory - _

Jasper held me tighter in his arms and kissed me once before lying down on the bed. Still, he never let go. Our wedding was tomorrow. Everything had been planned to the last, tiny detail. Everything was going to be perfect, and I _knew _it. I was unable to have any wrong emotion. I was not nervous, nor worried. In Jasper's arms I could not feel anything but happiness and love.

"How did this happen?" Jasper asked.

I looked up into his honey-gold eyes. "What?"

"You." He said. "How did I manage to get you? I feel like I've comitted a terrible crime."

I must have frowned at that point, because Jasper began smoothing his finger at the crease between my eyebrows. My eyes instantly shut, and I relaxed. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"You: Alice Cullen. How did I, Jasper Whitlock, ever deserve you in my life? I feel like I must have...stolen you or something."

I opened my eyes and smiled at him. "Perhaps you did. You stole my heart."

Jasper grinned. "That was just plain cheesy, Alice." He chuckled.

I hit his chest playfully and he tackled me onto the bed. We played like that for hours until Rosalie dragged me out of the room. It was time to get ready. It was time for my wedding.

* * *

I could hear the commotion down the stairs as Rosalie did my hair and my makeup. I wanted to go down there and set up all the tables for the reception and light all the candles and be making the last details fit together. It felt weird being up here, in a tiny bedroom somewhere next to the church, sitting and doing nothing while everybody did everything for me.

Rosalie curled my hair loosely and placed a flower-embedded tiara upon my head. She hadn't done a lot with my makeup; she said I was already beautiful.

And finally we came to my favourite bit. I slipped into my dress with ease and Rosalie zipped the back, and attatched my veil to the flowers in my hair.

The dress was beautiful. The corsetted bodice was alive with diamonds and crystals; the train slipped around my waist, tying itself together at my hip with a white rose flower. It lay open over my legs, revealing the diamond-like underskirt and ivory high-heels. **(picture available on profile) **Rosalie held up her fingers 'two-minutes' and ran and got changed.

She was out in thirty-seconds. I knew, by the sight of her, I should feel jealous. But I couldn't. I could feel nothing but hapiness and joy. She wore a rose pink dress, falling just above the knee. The bust was made up from tiny, rose flowers; a rhinestone belt tightening around her waist and revealing her slim figure. I grinned. **(picture on profile)**

"You look beautiful." I said.

Rosalie smiled. "Not as beautiful as you."

Esme squeezed through a small whole through the door to stop anybody seeing in. I hadn't seen her all day. She had been busy with the decorations and putting the men into their suits despite their moaning, and calming Jasper down, and talking to the vicar. She smiled at me and carefully gave me a hug.

"You look beautiful." She said.

Esme wore small dress. Pleated at the bust; a ribbon twisting around her middle, and the tiny dress flowing out from her waist down.

Rosalie and Esme took me out into a small corridor leading back out to the front of the church where I'd walk through the front doors and down the aisle with Carlisle and meet Jasper at the end. At the front of the church stood Carlisle looking extremley proud. I was sure he should be glowing. I thought I saw his eyes water up as I got nearer.

"Hello, Alice." He said.

I grinned. "Hey."

Esme and Rosalie rush into the church. Carlisle and I have to wait a few minutes. It feels like the time drags on and on until finally, Edward peeks his head around the door, and gives the thumbs up.

Carlisle drew the veil over my face carefully; I took one, long deep breath, and walked as gracefully as I could into the church; Carlisle on my arm.

I could see it in Jasper's stance that he waneted to look around, but he didn't. He waited patiently until Carlisle had brought me all the way to the front. I had to turn, so Carlisle coud lift the veil, kiss my cheek, drop the veil back over my face, and leave; then I was able to look around as Jasper. He grinned at me, looking almost embarrassed, reached down and took my hand, then turned so we could both face the vicar.

Most of the words the vicar was speaking bored me. My head was buzzing and it didn't want to focus and listen. The only words that meant anything to me were about to come, and Jasper was the one to speak them...

"I, Jasper Whitlock, take you, Alice Cullen, to be my partner, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the woman you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us."

The vicar nodded, the smile that he'd worn at the beginning of the occasion never wearing. "And Miss Cullen?" He said.

I nod and take a deep breath. "I, Alice Cullen, take you, Jasper Whitlock, to be my friend and my lover. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity."

I looked directly as Jasper, and Jasper only. Nobody else mattered. All I wanted to hear was his voice, his words.

"I now pronounce you-" The vicar said.

"Man and wife." Jasper whispered.

He lifted the veil above my head, and as he kissed me the church exploded in cheers and applause. I felt his hands on the small of my back, where the veil had dropped to. I didn't want him to let go of me. I wanted to hold him forever.

* * *

I don't know if I would have had a reception if it wasn't for Emmett. He demanded, whether it was his wedding or not, that there should be an after-party. Esme had gotten mad at him, and told him it _wasn't _his wedding, and that I should be allowed to make choices for myself. Emmett still didn't die down after that. He hounded me in the middle of the night and 'discussed' all the good things about having a reception. He promised me he'd plan it if nobody else wanted to. He promised me he'd make it how I wanted it, and it could all go on his bill for the month, and that he'd prepare everything. I gave in, as long as he got Esme or Rosalie to help him plan it. Everything was still going on his bill, I still promised to give him some of the credit for it.

As we walked out of the church I couldn't stop smiling. As I walked into the mansion sized gazebo my smile turned into a grin. A canopy held over the ceiling, black as night, stars twinkling down onto the ivory tables and house sized dance floor. **(guess what? I have a picture on my profile :))**

Emmett nudged me. "Told you, didn't I? Told you I was good..."

I laughed. "This wasn't your idea, Emmett."

"Yes it-"

"Thank you, Esme." I said.

Emmett started tickling me until I thanked him, and gave him the 'credit he deserved'. He stopped when the others started walking into the tent. Family friends I hadn't recognized from before. I'd heard of them from my visions, I knew a few of their names, but most of it was a blur. I couldn't tell you who was who.

A woman seperated from the huddled group entering through the curtains. She walked up to me, her eyes a glowing honey-gold; long, strawberry-blonde curls hung over her shoulders and tightly-fighting dress.

"You must be Alice." She said. "I'm Tanya."

She held out her hand almost cautiously, as if it was the least thing she wanted to do. I took it and she smiled, and came slightly closer.

"You look gorgeous." She said. I felt embarrassed; her beauty almost matched up to Rosalie's. Okay, so it probably (and obviously) wasn't anything like Rosalie's. Any human would fall for a slave at Rosalie's feet if she asked them to. But Tanya, I knew, had some kind of charm. Perhaps a gift she posessed like Rosalie? Well, it wasn't really a gift either. Rosalie was just...beautiful. Either way, I felt like an small and defenceless ant stood in her presence.

Jasper must have sensed my discomfort. He walked over to me, taking very slow, very obvious steps until he reached my side. Tanya took her gaze from me and set it onto Jasper.

"And you must be Jasper? The lucky groom."

I was sure she was going to start glowing. I wondered if it was just some ridiculous emotion surfacing. Was I self-conscious? I never thought I was really aware of my looks. I knew I was beautiful and I knew saying that wouldn't make me sound like a horrible, pompous brat in our family. We were all beautiful, it was built into us. I could feel Jasper calming me, flushing my mind of any unwanted thoughts. All I could feel was happiness...tranquill. And then it came to me. I'd merely needed to empty my mind.

I was so conscious of others beauty because I didn't really _know _what I looked like. All of these people had clearly been beyond beauty in their human lives. Particularly Tanya and Rosalie, it seemed. I could even drop Esme into the category. They all knew what they looked like; they all knew if they'd been beautiful. They'd all known their human life. I hadn't. I didn't know if I'd been beautiful or if I'd had male attention or if I was ever called beautiful. I could never know if it was this venom, the venom keeping my body alive, keeping my brain working and my eyes glowing and my muscles moving, was the thing that made me beautiful.

I felt Edward behind me. In my small trance he must of spoke to Jasper, because he pulled me out of his arms with ease, and took me into his own. Still holding me close to his body, he took me all the way to an empty corner of the room. I could feel at least half the rooms gaze on me and it was making me uncomfortable despite Jasper's strong hold.

"You're beautiful." He spoke so quietly I doubted the others would hear from where we were.

I didn't reply.

"Your thoughts are driving me insane. I don't know why you've suddenly come to this conclusion, but you're as beautiful as Rosalie, you're as beautiful as Tanya and Esme and any of us. You're the baby, we all love you, if you don't shut up your thoughts I'm going to tell the others and they'll bug you for years about your looks." He smiled that crooked-smile that made him look like a child again. I tried to break him stare.

"I'm not as beautiful as Rosalie." I muttered.

I could see the sides of Edward's lips twitching in hopes to laugh. "Okay-Okay. I'm not going to argue on that one. How about...we all think you're as beautiful as her?"

"You don't though."

Edward opened his mouth to speak and shut it again. "Emmett!" He shouted.

Emmett came bounding over. "Yeah?"

"Alice doesn't think she's beautiful."

He looked from Edward to me and back again. Finally his gaze settled on me and he grinned. "My little sister doesn't think she's beautiful?"

I didn't answer. The whole room had heard now.

"Yup." Edward said.

"I never said that exactly..."

"Yes you did." Edward argued.

I glared at him. "I did not."

He leant closer to me and dropped his voice again. Carlisle was starting to walk over, though the other couples seemed to be engrossed in their conversations and the loud music that had started during our conversation.

"They're going to believe me, Alice." He whispered, then came back to his full height and smiled. For the first time I'd ever seen, he looked beyond full of himself. "I can read minds."

I took his words as a threat and turned to Carlisle without another glance at my older brother. He opened his arms and pulled me into his chest.

"I hate to make you feel guilty, but you're upsetting Esme."

I looked up; he was smiling.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

He shook his head. "Brilliant time to make yourself feel like this. Your wedding?"

I grinned. "I'm good with things like that."

"Didn't you see it in a vision?"

I shrugged. "I was trying not to look."

People were piling onto the dance floor and coming closer and closer towards us. Tanya kept looking over at our small huddle looking embarrassed and slightly upset. Rosalie tugged on her arm and I could see her lips moving, yet no sound reached my ears.

"I don't care how long it takes you to believe me. You're the most beautiful person in this room right now-"

"Rosa-"

"Stop going on about Rosalie. You are. Now, I think somebody's waiting for you."

Edward must have told Jasper not to come with us. He was sat on one of the tables looking quite helpless. I smiled and ran up to him. He stood up and caught me, swinging me round.

"I love you." I told him.

He grinned. "Good. Because I love you too."

**Hmm. Not as long as I thought it would be :) Still, I found this REALLY hard to write. I had so many different images of Alice's wedding and I was really conscious of disappointing because everybody has a different idea of her wedding. Still, this is MY idea of her wedding. I didn't really want her to have that self-conscious-body-image moment at her wedding, but I thought it sort of fit. I've wanted to have that moment for a while. I thought it appropriate as she didn't know her human life. And them telling her these things...you'll see. It builds an ego for the future ;) REVIEW PLEASE :D**


	47. Chapter 47

**Thank you for the reviews :)+A BIG thank you to_ 'TeamJacob995_'. You're really amazing :) Right. Chapter each decade :) I won't say what the exact year is, it'll just be like a bit of fun. Almost like family fluff ;) Edward will meet Bella in 2005.**

**1970's:**

The snow lay on the ground three feet high. It covered the tree's and coated the houses and turned the streets into a winter-wonderland. My siblings and I were slouched across the sofa together, waiting for the morning to arrive. Waiting for Santa Clause to sneak down the chimney and drop into the fireplace. Waiting for our presents. Carlisle and Esme were upstairs in their bedroom.

"Raise your hand if you believe in Santa Clause." Rose said.

Along with herself, Emmett rose his hand.

"Come on, Alice! I thought little kids believed in Santa Clause?" Emmett taunted.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"11:59." Edward said.

Everybody looked up at the clock on the mantle. We were all silent, holding our breath like children, as the seconds ticked by. Then finally-

"_MERRY CHRISTMAS!_" Emmett shouted. He jumped up so quickly off the sofa we all got thrown back.

Carlisle and Esme came down the stairs carrying a few more presents, grinning. Emmett ran over to the huge christmas tree in the middle of the room and started picking at the presents to see which was his. We all followed him with equal enthusiasm, and fought to get to the front of the tree.

Less than ten minutes later we were surrounded by ripped up wrapping paper. In our laps sat our presents: tickets south for Rosalie and Emmett, along with a necklace, car accessories and makeup for Rosalie, paintball guns, reloads, and a new jeep for Emmett. Edward got a whole new piano, as one of the keys had broken (thanks to Emmett), along with tuning instruments and rare music records. Jasper was given a credit card, loaded with over five hundred thousand pounds, outdoor equipment and a motorbike. Carlisle and Esme also got tickets abroad; Carlisle swore Esme's present had to be given out last. From Jasper and I, Carlisle got designer clothing, along with a new mercedes from the others. And then my presents. Finally.

"Here you go, Alice." Carlisle passed me a small box, similar to the one Jasper was given, and I knew what it was instantly.

I unwrapped the paper from the metallic box with one tear; flipped the purpley-metallic box open, and watched the golden cover of my brand-new credit card shine. I grinned.

"500,000." Carlisle smiled. "You had about half of that last time. Perhaps this will last _two _months now?"

"Of course, Carlisle."

Jasper tugged on my arm gently, distracting me from my glittering prize. It was strange how much I loved credit cards. I suppose it was because they got me everything that I loved. Clothes and shoes and make-up and designer hand-bags and _cars. _

"I have something for you." He said.

I twisted around to face him. "WhatWhatWhat?"

"Come outside." He said, already getting up.

I jumped up and everybody else followed as we headed out of the front-door and onto the drive-way. Edward's, Carlisle's and Rosalie's cars sat in the snow, hidden behind the sparkling ice. I counted each of the cars, confused as to why Jasper was watching me and just _grinning. _I counted them three times. I still didn't understand. I re-counted, and included Jasper's motorbike that stood on the side of the line up.

"What?" I asked.

Jasper started laughing. I heard Edward's surprise from behind me.

"What?" I asked again.

Jasper pointed at the cars. I counted again, this time outloud, to prove my point. "One...Two...Three...Four."

"_Four._" Jasper repeated.

I stared at the cars; an involuntary squeal of delight escaped my lips and I jumped up and down on the spot for at least a minute until Jasper carried me over to the car.

"To Alice. From Jasper." He whispered.

I swept away the thick layer of snow that had settled on the car and opened up the door.

"Porsche Carrera, 911." He explained.

I slipped into the car. The keys were already in the engine; I turned and pressed down on the pedals. The engine revved loudly; I grinned. "Thank you."

* * *

"Can I have my present now?" Esme asked.

We lounged in our couples on the sofa, sat in front of the roaring fire. Of course, it was completley unnecassary for the fire to be on. It wasn't warming any one of us. But Carlisle claimed it made the house feel more christmas-y. I suppose it worked.

"I was waiting for you to ask that..." Carlisle said, quietly.

Esme smiled. "So I can have it now."

"Sure."

Carlisle sat up, patted Edward (who we all felt sorry for) on the shoulder, and walked from the room. He walked back in a few seconds later with a small parcel.

"Here."

Esme sat up and opened the parcel. About twenty pieces of paper fell out. Esme picked them up and examined them.

"Where is this?" She asked.

"I'm sorry I couldn't take you there today. I thought you'd prefer to be with the family..."

Esme looked confused. The lose photographs started falling from the chair and the rest of us picked them up.

"An island?" Emmett asked.

Edward smirked. "Never..."

"I don't understand." Esme muttered.

Carlisle pointed at the pictures. "I bought in a few months back...Abandoned, left for wild. I was wondering...whether to buy it or not. It looked so beautiful untouched. But then I thought, humans would start building on it anyway. So in the end I brought it. I built this on it..." He pointed to a mansion-like building sat on the sandy beaches. "I brought it for you. Isle Esme."

**I thought I'd end it there :) I'm not too overdue. I said late last week, didn't I? Well, here you go. The eighties next. I have a good idea for the next decade, I hope you'll like it :) REVIEW PLEASE :)**


	48. Chapter 48

**The Eighties :) So, I've seen this idea a few times round. It's been used a million times. Believe me or not, I've wrote about the particular idea before I even knew other people on FF had. I've got it on paper from about a year ago - probably longer :) So I'm going to use it and REALLY hope I don't offend anyone, or make anyone think I'm copying them. Mine it different. It's not really the same. Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling on! Here is your chapter :) If anyone has that big a problem with it, I'll take it down and try to write something else. **

"Forks?" Edward asked.

He'd been complaining about the area for a few weeks.

"Stop moaning." Emmett complained. "I'll go if you don't want to."

"I didn't say I didn't want to go." Edward continued. "I'm just trying to investigate the area a little more."

"You have to evaluate everything, don't you?"

Edward glared at him. "Evaluate's a very big word for you, isn't it?"

Carlisle pulled on Edward's arm and dragged him to the car. Edward strapped himself into his seatbelt.

I leaned in through his window to Carlisle. "Tell me again why I can't come?"

Carlisle smiled at me. "It would look conspicuous."

He started the engine; I held onto the side of the car firmly. "It wouldn't be. Who's going to be looking?"

"I'm not risking it."

"We have a mind-reader."

"No, Alice."

I let go of the car with a sigh and watched them drive off. _Stupid Forks._

_

* * *

_

**_(Carlisle's POV) _**

"Welcome to Forks..." Edward read out the sign.

We continued to drive down the empty road together.

"Lots of trees..." Edward muttered.

I smiled. "Lots of mountain lion."

We stopped at the traffic lights and Edward stared into the trees. His nostrils flared slightly as he smelt the air around him; as the car started again he turned around. "Too many Elk. They smell boring."

"Over-population?"

"Perhaps."

We began to drive deeper into the town. There were few children on the streets. People stood on their driveways, chatted with their neighbours; tied boats to trucks or tucking fishing lines into little gaps in the car. I examined every tiny detail of the neighbourhood. We drove all the way up to the school, and started driving back again when my phone rung.

"What, Alice?"

"Are you there yet?"

"Yes, Alice."

"How is it?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"That it's amazing and that we're going to move there straight away."

"You know we're not."

"It still would have been nice to hear it."

Shouting distracted me from Alice's rambling. She continued, oblivious to me not listening. A few feet away a young man with dark hair and eyes was chasing a young woman to her car. In his arms sat a small, brown haired child, with bright, chocolate brown eyes. Her young but bright eyes locked onto the car and followed it. I was aware of us slowing as we passed. The whole neighbourhood had turned to investigate what all the noise was about. The young woman yanked the door open; swung around to face the dark-haired man.

"Have you said goodbye?" She asked.

There were tears in his eyes. He kissed the infants head slowly, and passed her to the young woman.

"I'm sorry." She said as she tucked the child into the carseat and climbed into the car herself. "I'm really sorry, Charlie."

"Will I see her? Again...?"

"Of course." The woman snapped. Her anger smothered her pain. "I wouldn't keep her away from you. I'd never do that. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless she didn't want to see you. It's not something to worry about now, is it? She's months old. I'm sorry, Charlie. Goodbye."

The young woman got into the car, double checked the infant was strapped in, and started the engine. Tears were in her eyes as she began to drive off; the man stayed frozen to the pavement, and the whole street watched as the car disappeared out of sight.

"Bye." He whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks.

* * *

**I'm sorry. I know it's kinda sad, and slightly off the book. But how do we know if Edward didn't see that? It's not exactly something you'd really mention...is it? Anyway. I know it's short so I'll try and get the next chapter out ASAP :) REVIEW PLEASE.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Really really sorry. I went on a school trip to Belgium :) Well, not so happy face because t was all about the war...the war Edward almost had to go into: WW1. But it was really good. Anyway, here's your next chapter. I'm just going to do when they move to Forks for the first time. Because I don't know about you but I'm boring myself from the eighties onwards. I don't really want to do the nineties. Hope you don't mind.**

**_2005: _**

My head throbbed painfully, and Carlisle continued to pace back and forth across the room.

"Will you please make your mind up? Please, please, please?"

Carlisle stopped and turned to face me, smiling. "Sorry?"

"Hmm."

Edward walked into the room carrying several heavy boxes and pulling a suitcase. Carlisle turned to face him and pointed to the door.

When Edward had left he spoke again. "Yes, definitely Forks."

"Thank you." I sighed as the small, green landscape settled before my eyes.

"What made it so difficult?" Emmett asked, carrying twice Edward's bundle.

Carlisle shrugged. "It was a close vote, wasn't it? I want—"

"You wanted to make everyone happy." Edward answered, returning from the truck and taking half of Emmett's bags off him. The two of them jogged outside.

Rosalie came down with several small bags and one of her best outfits. Typical, as if we weren't going to make a big enough impression on the tiny town of Forks.

Esme was still packing all the furniture. Where the front room had been less than 12 hours ago stood about twenty boxes, folded tables and stacked photo-frames.

A few hours later the lorry was full to the brim. Carlisle got into the driver's side with Esme to his right. Edward drove the Mercedes, with the lose bags, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and I.

We arrived in Forks for nightfall. So much for Rosalie's first impressions, barely anybody was walking the streets as we drove straight through Forks. It looked as though we were driving out, on a thin road surrounded by dense forests, until Carlisle took a sharp turn ahead. Edward followed, everything in the car swerved to the left.

The drive-way was long, and surely would have sent any human dizzy, before we finally reached our destination. The mansion was white, bright against the dense green forest, and dazzling. Everybody noticed the double garage at the side of the house, hidden slightly behind some of the woodland.

Carlisle parked up on a diagonal, and Edward drove straight into the first garage. We all left, bags in hand. All except Rosalie and Edward, who stood staring at the garage and the cars in it for a little longer. Their new cars, their new accessories, their new garage. I didn't understand the fascination of it all.

Both Edward and I had rear facing bedrooms again, both with long glass panels for perfect views. The forest, I thought, was beautiful, but I could hear Emmett moaning from downstairs about the lack of large, carnivorous mammals.

At the end of the day we all sat down stairs in the open front room, talking about the house. Rosalie was happy for once, having a walk in wardrobe, a separate beauty parlour, a bigger bedroom, a new BMW, and a separate garage to Edward.

"Jasper? Do you want to join school for good this time?" Esme asked.

Jasper looked at the floor.

"No, no! You don't have to. I love having someone around the house...just I thought...I thought it would make you happy. You know, to be with your brothers and sister...to be with Alice."

"I don't see the point." Jasper said quietly, as his dread spread over each of us. "I'll just have to stay home again, and we'll just have to move again."

"No we won't." I turned to face him. "Just because you made one tiny slip up 10 years ago doesn't mean you will now. You've gotten better over the past 10 years. You're amazing, Jazz."

Emmett grinned and thumbed him on the arm. "Sure. I mean, it's not like you killed anyone last time, anyway."

"My mouth was on their throat."

"You exaggerate."

"I was about to bite them."

"No you weren't."

"Shut up, Emmett."

"Okay."

"If we just make sure you hunt often enough you should be fine." Carlisle reasured.

Jasper just nodded.

"We're going to Forks High School then?" Rosalie asked.

Esme nodded. "You might even make it to colleg this time."

"We're staying a long time?"

"Yes. This time."

"I don't want to go to college." Rosalie moaned. "I've been too much."

"Don't go then." Edward said.

Rosalie glared at him.

"So you start tomorrow." Carlisle said.

"Tomorrow?"

"Of course. Tomorrow."

* * *

"Edward! We're using your car! Get your-"

"Alice."

"What? I wasn't going to say-"

"Alice.

"Fine."

Edward came jogging down the stairs, in the opposite clothing to what I'd given him to wear.

"Edward. Couldn't you have least kept the shirt?"

"It wouldn't have gone with the jeans."

"I sighed and dragged him to the car.

I sat with Jasper in the back seat, Rosalie next to us and Emmett at the front.

The school was tiny and yet the halls and corridors were full. Jasper was in pain, no matter how much he denied it, and I wanted to take him home.

"He's fine, really." Edward reasured me at lunch. Jasper and Emmett were getting the 'food'.

"He's not."

Edward shook his head. "You worry too much. Who can read minds here?"

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. Jasper sat down with the food and put his arm around me. "I'm fine." He whispered.

"Who's Isabella Swan?" Emmett asked.

Edward looked up and my vision blurred.

I was seeing Isabella Swan, not the school Canteen at late February. I was watching her, with her heart-shaped face, chocolate eyes and dark brown hair...she was so clumsy. It made me smile.

"Alice?"

I jumped, looking up. "Yes?"

Edward smiled. "New girl."

"Thought you'd of heard of her?"

"No. I haven't particuarly been paying attention. The novelty of those first days wears off. I would have thought you'd have seen it, though."

I shrugged. Why hadn't I seen it sooner?

**Sorry it's a short chapter, and again that it's been so long. I'm really really sorry. Please review?**


	50. Chapter 50

**For the recent readers, I will be continuing this up to Breaking Dawn :) I will leave it where Stephenie Meyer left it. Then, if I feel like it, I might continue. **

_Edward? _I asked in my mind.

Edward looked up reflexively and looked back down at the table. He'd heard.

_How is he? _I asked, and Edward instantly knew I was talking about Jasper.

He hadn't hunted in two weeks. In fact, none of us had. It was fairly easy for the rest of us. As a vampire, your throat burned continuously, only fading slightly once hunting. It was just putting up with the pain, and controlling your reactions, that was the difficult part. Of course, if a human, on the very rare occasion got slightly too close, it would be extremley uncomfortable. So much so we'd break away, probably get into the open air as soon as possible. It was more comfortable that way.

Edward stared at the far wall, and a small frown appeared between his eyes.

_Is there any danger? _I tried searching ahead, but looking for an attack was impossible. The desicion was made in a second, I'd most likely see the vision milli-seconds before the event. It was times like those that I loathed my gift. If I was going to be a physic, couldn't I at least have the whole package?

Edward's head moved very slowly from left to right, as if he was searching the room. I instantly relaxed. _Let me know if it gets too bad._

He moved his eyes to the ceiling and down and to the wall.

_Thanks for doing this. _I smiled very slightly, looking down at the table. Edward would have noticed.

I liked having these private conversations with Edward. It was slightly childish, the satisfaction of having a full conversation and our other three siblings being completley unaware. But that was not the only reason. It was helpful to be able to have a conversation like we just did, when Jasper couldn't hear. It would only frustrate and upset him more; it took forever for us to keep him for full days at school. Even now, he only went for me. A few years ago we even had to pretend he was being home-schooled after he dropped out of school unexpectedly half way through the year.

Suddenly I was filled with a vision. Jasper was standing next to a pretty blonde, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning down to her neck. It took me only a second to realise this was the girl that had just came to stand near our table, discussing a party to her friend.

The chair shook and I was thrown out of my vision at an uncomfortable speed. I blinked, more from habit now than necessity. Edward had kicked the chair. He'd gone slightly paler than usual, his eyes a dangerous onyx and the circles under his eyes turning almost black in just a few seconds. Obviously struggling, watching and imagining Jasper's intentions himself.

"Sorry." Jasper muttered.

I shrugged. "You weren't going to do anything. I could see that."

There was a short pause. Jasper stared at the floor and I watched as Edward's appearance returned to normal.

"It helps a little if you think of them as people." I suggested, speaking too fast for the human's passing us to hear. "Her name is Whitney. She has a baby sister she adores. Her mother invited Esme to that garden party. Do you remember?"

"I know who she is." Jasper said, looking up and staring out of the far window. His tone ended any conversation.

I sighed silenty and stood up with my tray of food. I knew when Jasper didn't want any more encouragment. I'd just go to my next class early.

As I exited the cafeteria, I saw the new girl, Bella, turn to stare at my family. Edward looked frustrated. I looked away and walked out. I didn't bother allowing myself to try and see what was going on.

* * *

I was sat in spanish, my head down, copying from the text book. It was a dull lesson. A few of the boys at the back of the room had annoyed Mrs Goff to the point where she sat us all in silence to read from text books and copy the words down. I was forced to go frustratingly slow, as Mrs Goff was circling the room watching us, and it would look strange if one minute I was doing the first question, and the next I'd completed the entire page. But at some point I had to finish.

Very slowly I raised my hand, ready to announce I'd finished five minutes before everyone else.

"Sí?"

"He completado todos los de las tareas."

Mrs Goff raised her eyebrows slightly, and nodded. "Continuar a la página ciento sesenta y cuatro."

I sighed. It would be 'continue to the next page' over and over again.

I was focusing on Jasper too hard to see anything else. Most of the time, if I was bored enough, I could flick through the future like a picture book. It could be surprisingly interesting what some people planned to do.

Just as I put my pen to paper my head began to throb. I feared something had gone wrong with Jasper, it was stupid I couldn't be in his lessons with him. On days like this, it would save me a lot of hastle. I dropped the pen and placed my palm against my forehead. Something was obviously about to happen, or already happening, that was too much to ignore; and suddenly I wasn't in the room with 30 other students anymore, or looking at my spanish book.

It was the new girl. She clouded my mind, never clear, causing my head to scream at me. Without warning Edward swam into the picture. His eyes were a dark onyx. He leant back against an invisible object. Then, in a flash, like somebody had just taken a photograph, his lips were at her kneck, and the colour was draining from her skin. Another flash. He was destroying the entire classroom. Bodies lay over the floor. Another flash. My brain, for a first, could not keep up. One second he was destroying the classroom, and one by one, everyone in it. I saw it in his head, the satisfaction of seeing the fear and repulsion on Bella's face, in her eyes. Keeping her last. Letting her watch. Stopping the screaming. Stopping the chaos.

"Señorita? ¿Puedo ser excusado?" I blurted.

My head was still running through image after image.

Mrs Goff turned to stare at me. "¿Por qué?"

I looked down at the table, ready to speak, but the bell rung loudly.

I blinked. Had I been watching Edward and Bella for half an hour? I took a deep breath. Had he killed her? No, I thought. I stood up with the rest of the class and exited the room.

* * *

Further visions blocked my sight all day. Edward was sat in his car, I could continue with my day.

Nearing the end I walked back to Edward's empty car with Jasper. Rosalie and Emmett were already there. When they saw us, Emmett turned around and got inside. Jasper and I followed.

Then, one second he wasn't there, and the next the door was slamming and Edward was breathing heavily, lent back against his seat like he'd just been suffocated.

"Edward?" I asked, alarmed.

He shook his head, keeping his eyes shut and breathing heavily.

"What the hell happened to you?" Emmett demanded.

But Edward ignored him. He put the car into reverse and swerved out of the parking lot like we were on a racing course.

Like I expected, everybody turned to look at me. I was supposed to know, wasn't I? But I hadn't seen anything. I shrugged. While the car sped up to the eighties, I looked into the future for him.

It was unclear. Just the house...the clear white, crystal mansion and...no Volvo. Like I was in a game, my vision sped forwards and spun around the house, smashing through the doors with a strange urgency and suddenly stopping in Edward's room. He was gone.

"You're leaving?" I whispered. I couldn't bring my voice to do anymore.

**I know, for anyone that has read Midnight Sun, this is running extremley close lines. I could either carry it on like this, because there are quite a few points that would be all of my own, or I could just completley re-do it. If that makes sense? Review to tell me if you want me to stay close to Midnight Sun. And still review if you don't :) Basically, REVIEW :)**


	51. Chapter 51

**So, sorry it's been a long time. I might finally be getting a new laptop because mines playing up so much. Yes, it's broken. Again. Geez. Anway, a majority said not to follow midnight sun really closely, to put it all into my own words but to stick to the line. I'll go with the majority :) Here's your next chapter.**

Everybody's faces moved from my own, to Edward's in less than a second. Edward sighed heavily.

"Am I?"

A few seconds passed, Edward pressed his foot harder on the accelerater and the car jolted forwards. As I got thrown forwards, in too much of a shock to be bothered to stop myself, my vision changed again. I blinked, squeezed my eyes tightly shut but it wouldn't move. Bella Swan lay on her bed, appearing to be asleep. The picture changed, and changed again, like somebody taking photographs with a flash camera. Bella lay on her bed, appearing to sleep. Bella, the dark purple covers disappeared now so she lay on a plain white sheet. Bella, a porcelain doll, broken, as white as snow, her deep chocolate brown eyes blank from expression, dead. Then suddenly Edward. Like a portrait, his skin pale white, his lips cherry red and his eyes...his eyes a crimson red and glowing.

The car jolted again, Edward slammed the brakes at a traffic light. I opened my eyes and I was in the car again.

"Oh." I whispered.

I faintly heard Edward hiss, I could imagine what was spinning through his head. His foot tapped on the pedal, slowly we edged forwards with his impatience and anger. Jasper was leant back against the seat in the back, his muscles were tense, his eyes shut. You could tell he was trying to block everything out.

The traffic lights flicked to orange, before most of the humans had seen them change Edward was across the road...at 60mph...70...80...90...I wasn't watching the speed again.

I was there, in Chief Swan's house. In their tiny kitchen, with the small set of chairs and table, and the bright yellow cupboards. Her back was turned to the door, to the shadows leaning heavily over the small room. She wasn't safe. Edward crept out of those shadows, his eyes deeper than black and darker; he wasn't thinking, he wasn't realising. No longer was Bella Swan a young human girl, with future and ambition and family. She was prey; her sole purpose was to satisfy the predator.

"Stop!" He groaned, he hit his head against the back of the chair. His eyes were as black as night.

"Sorry," I whispered.

We were almost home, photographs flashed before my eyes again, hopefully for the last time today...I wished...An empty, snow-coated road in the dead of night. I, it appeared, was driving a car at over 200mph down this road, the car tyres barely leaving a dent in the delicate snow. I shuddered.

"Drop us here." I ordered. "You should tell Carlisle yourself."

And despite the roads being slippery wet, and by all of what physics tells us, Edward managed to fall from 120mph to a stop in a second, and the car barely even shuddered. If this was any other time, I'd joke about his car. Joke about his _bad driving _and how one day he was going to crash, or destroy the car. We all joked about how the car was not immortal; not like him. But now was definitley not the time.

Edward nodded slowly and we all filed out of the car in silence. I purposley walked over to the drivers side of the car, where Edward's window lay open, and lay a hand on his shoulder. "You _will _do the right thing." I told him. He didn't look at me. "She's Charlie Swan's only family. It would kill him, too."

He finally looked at me. "Yes," But his voice slipped, for once his lie was visible.

I turned and walked away. The others stayed frozen, watching Edward, but I didn't want to watch him drive away. I was first into the forest and Jasper was not long to follow. Rosalie and Emmett came last, though Edward's car remained perfectally still.

I shut my eyes, still able to direct myself through the dense forest. My head had started to ache with the bright flashes and changes of view. Too many visions clouded my head, each fighting to get to the front. Edward's desicions, how he was planning on telling Carlisle, where he was going exactly, how he was getting there, his siblings, how many people he knows he's hurting...Esme's expression. Each one changing in less than a second, each possibly spilling before my eyes. Next, the others questioning me. Even Carlisle and Esme, all five of them, slipping into my bedroom, pretending not to exist, sitting on the edge of my bed and placing a reasuring hand on my shoulder. Then, what's going to happen when we get home, Carlisle's face again...Esme...torn. I shook my head, trying to throw away the visions, but it merely made it worse.

"Alice." Jasper spoke quietly.

I slowed to a jog and Jasper was by my side.

"I love you." He told me.

I smiled and leant against his shoulder. I could feel his warmth spreading over me, calming me.

"I love you, too."

**REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW :)**


	52. Chapter 52

**I'm sorry it's been a long time. With the year I'm in at school I've been having a lot of homework, because my teachers are evil. I've also been ill.  
Anyway, enjoy the chapter :)**

Esme sat on the arm chair next to the high window, staring out onto the drive with a blank expression on her face. Rosalie was out in the garage, taking her mind off anything that could be worrying her. She refused to let on how concerned she was about Edward. She'd never admit it, but he was (now anyway) her little brother, no matter how many times she denied it. Emmett was playing with a football outside, which was a slightly stupid thing to do considering it was dark. He played games like this with himself a lot; playing football or some other sport seemed to take his mind of things. He was surrounded by the most expensive cars, but nobody was bothered. Even if he missed the ball (which was extremely unlikely), and it smashed into one of the cars, I doubt anybody would be that bothered then. I sighed as my head throbbed angrily. Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck gently. My muscles relaxed slightly, but even Jasper could not stop the raging migraine.

Edward was flicking from one decision to the next, sifting through the ideas one by one in his head. I saw every outcome, and all but one resulted in him moving away and never coming back to live with us. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, hoping the pain would disappear, but it never. Jasper calmed me before I could become angry.

Carlisle's car pulled up on the drive and he got out in silence. There was no expression to his face, only in his eyes. Emmett nodded to Carlisle to greet him, and Carlisle nodded back. As he entered, Esme finally got up from the chair next to the window and fell into Carlisle's open arms. After, he kissed me on the head lightly and greeted Jasper with a quiet "Hello," and a weak smile.

This is what it had been like for the past week. Blank emotions and fake conversation. Esme spent a lot of the day cleaning, and then sitting in the chair next to the window. She always says she's just waiting for Carlisle to come home, but it's clear it's not that. She's waiting for Edward to come around the corner.

I glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. Nobody went to their bedrooms before Carlisle got back, but now he was back, and it was three am in the morning, I decided to go up to my room. Jasper followed, and Emmett came in from the garden.

* * *

Jasper lay on the bed with his eyes shut, his arm wrapped around me. I, on the other hand, sat with my eyes wide open staring up at the plain ceiling. I would never be able to relax completely with this headache. Neither could I get angry.

Edward's decisions were thinning out at last. In his head were several options, several plans. Finding another coven hurt the most, though that was only a small part of a big plan. I decided not to take much notice of it. The other plan was to live on his own; to travel. I believed he would do this. It seemed like an Edward thing to do. And the final plan, was the one of him coming back home. I almost smiled when I heard it, but the grin was soon wiped off my face. He'd never come back. I couldn't believe it. As optimistic as I was, it just seemed too unlikely.

Morning rose too quickly again. Carlisle and Esme had to come into each of our bedrooms, as if we were real, sleepy teenagers, and wake us up. I closed my eyes as Carlisle came into the room and shook my shoulder.

"Alice, you've got to get ready for school." He told me.

I shook my head and opened my eyes slightly. "I don't want to go."

Carlisle frowned. "Why?"

"Because I don't."

Jasper rolled over and got out of the bed. He walked over to the double doors and stepped into our wardrobe, disappearing from sight. Carlisle sat down on the bed next to me.

"Why don't you want to go to school, Alice? You usually love it."

"I have a headache." I told him. It was true after all.

He nodded and gave me a hug. He was still holding me when Jasper came out of the wardrobe, fully dressed from the outfits I'd ordered.

"I suppose I still have to go?" He said.

Carlisle did not nod, or shake his head. "It would be nice to keep some normality."

Jasper nodded, came and kissed me on the forehead, and left the room. Emmett and Rosalie were already downstairs from the sounds of it.

I didn't know what Carlisle was waiting for, but he didn't let go of me until the others had left for school.

"He's going to come back." He whispered.

I didn't reply.

* * *

I sat on the sofa watching the TV. My head was throbbing as it usually did recently. Esme was cleaning, as usual, and Carlisle had left for work. Again. The attempt to keep everything to its routine and everything perfect was starting to drive me insane.

Suddenly everything went white. I shook my head, fear clouding my mind. What was happening? My vision tilted, as though I moved my head to look upwards, and everything went blue. Finally a balance came in. As though I was watching through other eyes, I began walking between the blue and the white. The pace quickened. I was running. Another bright light flashed in my face and I was seeing the house. I was seeing Edward's piano and his bedroom. I was seeing Esme's smile and Edward's car.

I jolted forwards and I was seeing the television again. Esme was clutching my arm.

"Alice? Alice are you okay?"

I stared at her blankly for a moment. My head wouldn't function right. "I...I think Edward's..."

"Edward's what?"

_"Well if you leave before I see you again...goodbye, Edward." Tanya's voice filled my head. Edward was rising from the blanket of snow which was the floor. _

_"Goodbye, Tanya." I saw him walking away. Walking across the empty white ground and towards the small forest in the distance. "Thanks again."_

"EDWARD'S COMING HOME!" I shouted.

Esme almost jumped. She didn't look like she quite believed me, but she stood up shakily and called Carlisle to come home and to pick up the others.

I was frustrated by how long it all took. The others were obviously oblivious, they all came home confused.

"What's happening?" Carlisle asked.

"Edward's coming home." I said.

I was grinning now. I no longer had a headache. I knew he was coming back.

The others were in too much shock to show any emotion. Esme took her position on the chair by the window again and Carlisle sat on the sofa with the others.

It was nightfall before Esme jumped up. She stared through the window as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing, and then the door opened ever so slightly, and Edward appeared from behind it.

**I hope that's okay. I wasn't that keen on the end. Tell me what you think? Review :)**


	53. Chapter 53

**I have changed my name. I really didn't want to do it, but it's...well, it's complicated. So my name is now 'perksofbeingawallflowerx' which is a good book and a great quote :) Here's your new chapter.**

**"**Edward!" I screamed. I dived into his arms and he spun me round. A huge grin lit up his face.

As I stepped down he walked over to Esme and hugged her, everybody heard the apology that he whispered in her ear. Carlisle patted him on the back affectionately, he and Emmett shook hands, and Rosalie hugged him in a similar manner to myself. For once, she didn't hold back.

* * *

"Hey, Edward!"

Edward stepped out of the car and turned towards Emmett's voice. A snowball the size of a football smashed into his face. Emmett burst out laughing.

"Thank you." Edward muttered.

Emmett was still laughing. Jasper lobbed an even bigger one at his back and Emmett spun on his heel.

"Below the belt!" He shouted.

Jasper laughed, collecting more snow together in his hands. "Why's that?"

"I was occupied!" Emmett jumped onto Jaspers back and shoved the ice down his t-shirt.

Jasper spun round; Emmett smacked onto the ground with a thud and another snowball smashed into his chest.

"Would you pair pack it in?" Rosalie picked up a two large chunks of snow and threw them at each of the two boys. "Every-single-person-on-this-stupid-carpark-is-staring-at-us."

"And?" Emmett laughed, jumping up.

The snow was already starting to dissolve. I picked up my own small handful of ice and dropped it into my pocket. I knew I'd probably need it later, distract Edward...It was weird, not feeling the ice to be cold, and especially the ice not melting in your pocket. The bell rung for the beginning of the day and Emmett gathered the last of the slush and threw it at Jasper again.

Jasper ignored him and walked over to me, placing his arm around my waist. Edward walked next to us, and Rosalie and Emmett walked ahead.

"I'm still not sure about this." Rosalie said.

"Only because you think he's going to slip up." Jasper replied.

Rosalie shrugged. "He probably will. He'll probably end up killing the girl and then the rest of the classroom and we'll have to move and start _all-over-again _just when we almost finished. Does any one of you not find that stupidly unfair?"She rushed.

Nobody replied.

"I don't think you will Edward." I told him.

Edward smiled ever so slightly.

"Yeah, well, that's alright for you, isn't it? You can see into the future. You know if he's going to slip up."

As she spoke the words I searched ahead. Edward took his biology lesson quickly in my sight. Nothing happened. It was almost annoying. Searching for something that could change in less than a second. It was almost pointless. On top of that I was trying to find out whether she had told anyone. More of Edward's job than mine, but if I could find out before we entered school it would be even better. Then we could leave before anyone paying much attention; without giving the school an excuse. The big problem was, it was more looking into the past than it was into the future. I was searching, once again, for something that could change in a second. As my head began to throb I stopped trying quite so hard.

"It's going to be okay." I said.

I could vaguely feel Jasper's hand on my arm guiding me forwards. My vision was elsewhere, focused on watching Edward's day. Each time Bella flicked through my mind I was sure he was tensing. I could feel him in front of me, his breathing as even as he could manage and his muscles tensed tightly. Emmett and Rosalie walked ahead. Emmett acting strangley like a bodyguard and Rosalie pretending none of us existed.

"Of course it is." Edward grumbled.

"She's not here yet, but the way she's going to come in..." I said. I was the only one watching Bella walk in to the canteen and sit at her table. In my vision we were already sat at our usual table. "She won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot."

"_Of course _we'll sit in our regular spot. Stop it, Alice. You're getting on my nerves. I'll be absolutley fine."

We sat down and I started seeing the canteen at it's usual pace again. "Hmm." I said, thoroughly surprised with myself and Edward. "I think you're right."

"_Of course I am._"

It was quiet for a while. Edward seemed deep in thought, and so we left him. I could see his eyes flicking across the room and it was obvious he was reading their minds. Checking information for whether Bella had mentioned anything, anything at all that might have made someone's imagine begin to wonder...

After a while longer Jasper asked, "Anything new?"

"Nothing." Edward replied. I was sure the rest of them were sharing the same expression as me: shock. "She...must not have said anything."

"Maybe you're not as scary as you think you are." Emmett said, chuckling. "I bet I could have frightened her better than _that._"

Edward rolled his eyes.

"Wonder why..." Emmett muttered to himself.

"We've been over that." Edward said, sounding annoyed. "I don't know."

"She's coming in." I butted in before they could begin a debate. "Try to look human."

Emmett grinned. "Human you say?" He held up his right fist, twisting his fingers to reveal the snowball he'd saved in his palm. His eyes were set on Jasper from their fight earlier but in a second I'd seen the outcome. The last change in his thoughts. The second I shot out of my vision the snowball was less than a second from my face. I flicked it gently - to me - and the snow ball hurtled across the room, to fast to be seen by human eyes, a shattered with a sharp crack against the brick wall. The brick cracked, too.

Everybody in that corner of the room spun around, from the wall to the tables behind them, searching for the culprit. They didn't look much further than a few tables, since most humans could not throw that far.

"Very human, Emmett," Rosalie said scathingly. "Why don't you punch through the wall while you're at it?"

Edward grinned, pretending to be joining in. Only to us was it clear that he was focusing everything on that queue where Bella Swan was standing.

I quickly noticed Edward's rigid back and tensed muscles. His breathing was short and sharp and he looked as though he was in agony. I sighed and elbowed him in the ribs as Bella walked from the queue. _She's going to look soon, act human. _I thought.

Edward tried relaxing. Emmett knew I'd spoken to him. "Ease up, Edward." Emmett said. "So you kill one human. That's hardly the end of the world."

"You would know..." Edward muttered.

Emmett laughed. "Because I've learnt to get over things. Like you've got to. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt."

Edward looked annoyed. I thought quickly. The ice in my pocket was still frozen perfectly. I pulled it out and squeezed it into a perfect block, then raised my hand and threw it into Emmett's face.

Emmett grinned. "You asked for it!"

He leant over the table and shook his hair across myself and Rosalie. Rosalie squirmed in disgust, and I leant back in my chair. I began to laugh, knowing my plan had worked. They hadn't notcied the way I'd planned this, but the distraction had worked instantly. None of them were staring at Edward and Edward wasn't watching Bella. I held my tray up, still laughing, as the humans were still watching. The others joined oblivious.

The bell rung and as the canteen emptied we stayed put. Edward was clearly thinking hard. I searched for him and all was normal. Still.

"I think you're going to be okay." I told him, trying to sound reasuring. Rosalie's expression played out what we were all feeling somewhere. "You seem set, determined. You know, convinced. You should make it through the hour."

"Why risk it, Edward?" Jasper asked. "Go home. Take it slow."

"What's the big deal?" Emmett disagreed. "He'll either kill her, or he won't. Might as well get it over with either way."

Rosalie glared at him and began to complain. "I don't want to move yet. I don't want to start over. We're almost at the end of high school, Emmett. _Finally._"

"No, Rose, I think it's okay. Honestly." I told her.

Edward sighed. "Go to class." He said, pushing away from the table and standing up. "I'll be fine."

**Review? First day back at school I was planning detailed, it will go a bit quicker. Promise. Just REVIEW :)**


	54. Chapter 54

**Thank you for the reviews :) Here's your new chapter.**

On and off. My head was beginning to ache with the pressure. I focused on Edward, his continuously changing mind and plans. More than once his mind-set changed to destroying the entire class room, killing the girl, and uprooting the family to moving hundreds of miles away. More than once his mind flickered to us all living in Alaska with the Denali Coven for years like we had to when Emmett slipped up. In fact, he was quite determined on that plan for a while. Each vision was blurred, uncomfortable to watch. I couldn't focus clearly on a single image. Several times the teacher had tried to get my attention. I'd been focusing so hard on Edward and his ever changing mind that all other parts of my brain had switched off.

It was nearing the end of the lesson when it came. _Bang. _Like it had been there the entire time and Edward was set out to obliterate everyone in the classroom. I raised my hand suddenly and told the teacher I felt sick. Before she could reply, I ran from the class room and into the fresh air, just outside Edward's classroom - where everything was silent and innocent.

Nothing happened. I heard him leave the classroom and walk in silence to Spanish, where he would be with Emmett, who would stop him doing anything.

* * *

Carlisle and Edward had gone hunting. I helped Esme clean the house, bored with watching Edward for the entire day, I needed something to distract me. I'd already heard a majority of their conversation; I already knew the time they'd be home. I had nothing to worry about and, as usual, I reasured Esme also. It was only a few minutes before they returned. I went upstairs to shower and Carlisle came into the house, found the uniform Esme had laid on their bed, and changed quickly. He called goodbye to me and kissed Esme on the forehead before walking out of the door and into his car for the early shift at the hospital. Edward sat outside in the dense forest, just out of sight.

Then there it came again. Blurred, but obvious enough to make out. Edward was walking away from the house.

It was only a few minutes before he walked through the door.

_You're leaving again_, I accused.

He sighed and nodded. I was shocked. He didn't even try to deny it, not like last time. Not like the last time where he argued with me, and the rest of us. He had no set plan and no knowledge to give to me. He knew nothing. He just knew he was...going.

_I can't see where you're going this time, _I informed him.

He nodded. "I don't know myself yet."

_I want you to stay. _I told him. It was a cruel thing to say in some ways. Just maybe though, with the plea of his little sister, he'd change his mind. But he just shook his head. A single, fleeting thought crossed my mind. _Maybe Jazz and I could come with you? _

He smiled slightly at the idea, then shook his head. "They'll need you here even more with me gone, Alice. Besides, think of Esme. Could you take half her family away in one blow?"

_You're going to make her so sad. _I tried. I was going to try everything to get him to stay. Anger was beginning to cloud my mind. Why didn't he understand? Why couldn't he stay?

"I know. That's why you have to stay."

I shook my head angrily. So it was all on me? I had to stay here and try and fix the broken porcelain. This family was delicate enough.

_That's not the same as having you here and you know it. _I struggled to keep my voice down. Edward stared at the floor.

"Yes," He said. "But I have to do what's right."

_There are many right ways, and many wrong ways, though, aren't there? _

I forced myself to see his future, I tried to make myself focus and watch. Edward's meadow...his skin glittering in the brightening day and that hazy figure that danced in his background and teased, never revealing itself. I snapped myself out of it, frustrated.

"I didn't catch much of that." Edward said.

I nodded, "Nor me. You're future is shifting around so much I'm not catching a lot of it." I pondered for a while, flicking through recent visions. "I think somethings changing though...Your life seems to be at a crossroads."

Edward laughed. "You realise you sound like a bogus gypsy at a carnival now, right?"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Am I good for today?" He asked, voice suddenly wary.

It takes me only a second. "I don't see you killing anyone, if that's what you mean."

He smiled grimly. "Thanks, Alice."

I nod slowly, the thought of him really leaving sinking in. "Go and get changed. I won't tell the others. I'll...I'll let you tell them when you're ready."

"Thank you." You said, and as you ran up the stairs I think, _I'll miss you._

**Short chapter, I understand. But I'm not going to be able to post for a few days and I wanted to get something out so review? Thank you :D**

**SOMETHING WENT WRONG WITH MY FF? I'VE HAD TO RE-POST. REALLY REALLY SORRY.  
**


	55. Chapter 55

**All my reviews have come back :D Good. Sorry about the whole re-posting thing. Next chapter :)**

The drive to school was quiet. All of them knew something strange was happening; they also all knew that it was between Edward and I – but none of them said anything. All three of them knew Edward and I talked telepathically. I wasn't so sure Edward was completely aware of this, or whether he just ignored it. We'd got better at it though over time, Edward and I, but once they realised they knew we weren't going to suddenly stop. They knew it would continue.

When we arrived at school we filed out of the car in silence. Jasper wrapped his arms around me almost protectively and I tucked my head into his chest. Edward leant against his car, acting casual, yet his eyes continued to flicker over to the entrance to the car park. Looking for Bella, that's what he was doing. _Stupid_, I thought, though he didn't hear. He was focusing too hard to listen to anybody else. I watched him, Jasper unaware of my being unfocused. As the girl rounded the corner slowly and parked neatly a few cars down, Edward's eyes lit up. I sighed inside. _You should be trying to detach yourself, _I thought to him, _not _stalk _her, Edward. _He obviously wasn't listening—

My vision spun uncomfortably. I tucked my face into Jasper's chest, squeezing my eyes tightly shut but everything had disappeared. I was blinded, panic began rising in my chest. I squeezed my eyes as tightly as they would go and opened again. Stupid, there was Jasper's shirt. Jasper's arms were wrapped around me protectively; Jasper's lips were pressed gently to my forehead. I looked up, realising Edward was still watching the girl, realising he could do something stupid any minute. As I looked up the cold air brushed against my face and, at the same time, I was drawn to the entrance of the car park. I could not look anywhere else; time was speeding and slowing down, images were flashing before my eyes of Bella...her chocolate eyes un-seeing and hollow; scarlet blood poured heavily, soaking her hair and clothes and turning the ice an innocent looking pink. I felt my throat burn angrily but I could not detach myself. Tyler Crowley's car sped around the corner of the slim entrance and flew forwards...Bella again, ambulances and police cars and the whole school crowded around a small spot where the ice had turned pink and there was still a Bella-shaped whole in the ground. Suddenly Tyler's car began to skid. I finally realised what was happening. I finally realised it was a vision. The car spun uncontrollably and smacked into the back of Bella's truck.

"NO!" I screamed.

Several people turned. Jasper stroked my hair and wrapped his arms around me. "Shh."

I knew Edward was flicking through my thoughts. I saved him the bother; I replayed the whole thing in my head. I couldn't stop it.

Edward looked on in horror as he read the last piece of information. Nobody saw it, not even me before he was running. Jasper's arms released me and both Emmett and he reached out, but neither could stop him. The vision switched, as it stuck on repeat it flicked to the girl wrapped in Edward's arms; her eyes wide. As I opened my eyes again Edward had jumped. He'd clearly decided running wasn't quick enough, and he flew through the air and, as he landed just among the small space between the girl and the van, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled sharply.

The rest of the act was out of sight. Rosalie cussed under her breath continuously and smacked Edward's car, purposely leaving a hand-shaped dent. The van rocked several ways before coming to a complete stop, where each one of the windows shattered in unison and Edward's voice began to speak so only us and Bella next to him could hear.

"Bella?" His voice was urgent. "Bella, are you alright?"

Her reply came automatically. "Fine."

There was silence for several seconds – too many seconds. I scanned the future, ridiculously uncertain that Edward was going to do something now. I was desperate to see what was happening.

"Be careful," Sudden words and I'm sure we all breathe a sigh of relief. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."

I sighed inside, this time with annoyance. We already had to explain why Edward was at the scene; how Edward got there; how he stopped the van; why he stopped the van; how did it not kill them both? And now, it was why and how did Isabella Swan have severe head injuries? I cussed under my breath myself, staring at Edward over the car park. _He _was going to be the one explaining this to Carlisle.

"Ow." Bella's voice, filled with surprise.

"That's what I thought."

Quiet for a few seconds. "How in the..."

The questions begin. I stopped listening then, it was quite easy to switch off from a particular subject. I didn't want to hear the questions or Edward's replies; he was going to explain everything to all of us later.

It went along the lines of 'How did you get over here so fast?' and 'You were the other side of the car-park'. A large crowd were beginning to spread around the scene now, along with separate authorities – teachers, the head-master – and finally, an ambulance.

The four of us began to walk over to the scene, joining the rest of the crowd so as not to look out of place. The ambulance had arrived and the paramedics began questioning Tyler and Edward. Soon they took Bella and placed her in a neck brace before laying her in the back of the ambulance. She looked mortified; Edward spoke a few words and took the front seat of the van without any neck brace or check up at all. He'd told them Carlisle's would look at him.

We watched as the ambulance drove away. Edward avoided any eye contact; he knew we were going to kill him when he got home. As the ambulance disappeared out of sight several people jumped into their cars. Rosalie stomped back to his volvo and took the front seat, "No _way _is he getting away with this."

**Short-ish chapter, I know. I was going to make it longer but I really wanted to get it out. Review :)  
**


	56. Chapter 56

**Sorry it took so long for a new chapter. Really bad writers block, and i've been pretty busy. I was trying to get a chapter out before Christmas...but it never happened :| Sorry for the wait:  
**

The journey home was done in silence. Rosalie continued her long list of insults, until I'm sure she'd used almost every word in the dictionary. Edward knew what was coming as well as I did; there was silence for now, but as soon as we entered the house the silence would shatter.

Luckily, when we arrived home, Carlisle's car was parked in the garage. Often, he wasn't home when we returned. Due to his shifts he'd usually come home an hour or two later. I, as everyone else it seemed, was thankful Carlisle was home. He wouldn't let it get too out of hand.

We walked into the dining room where Carlisle and Esme were already sat. Carlisle sat at the head of the table and Esme stood behind him. Rosalie sat opposite Carlisle, at the other end of the table, and Jasper stood behind her. Emmett, although looking uncomfortable, sat close to Rosalie; I sat next to Esme, opposite Edward.

It was clear, already, how a line had been drawn down the table. How the family had been split into two; against and for.

I kept my focus on the future - uselessly. Everything was a blur of shapes with one, never-ending, high pitched noise.

Edward spoke first, "I'm sorry," He said. I bought myself out of my vision and watched Edward. He only looked at Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper. "I didn't mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless. I take full responsibility for my actions."

Rosalie glared at Edward for a few moments, "What do you mean you'll take full responsibility? Are you going to fix it?"

"Not the way you mean..." Edward continued quietly, "I am willing to leave now, if that makes things better."

More like he'd leave if he knew none of us would touch her. He'd never leave unless he was sure. I looked at everybody else in a second, though if any of them had read between his words like I had they were hiding it.

"No." Esme said. Edward looked up at her, at the sheer determination on her face. Though she'd never force him to stay, it was as though she was threatening him. I'd never seen Esme like it.

"It'll only be for a few years."

Esme's face twisted with pain and Emmett spoke up quickly, "Esme's right. Leaving now wouldn't help anything. We need you. We need to know now, more than ever, what people are thinking."

Edward shrugged, "Alice will catch anything major."

Carlisle shook his head. "Emmett's right. The girl will be more likely to talk if you go. All of us will leave, or none of us will."

"She won't say anything." Edward insisted.

"You don't know her mind."

"I know this much. Alice, back me up."

I felt the shock on my face; I could hear the tension in Edward's voice rising. "I can't see like this. There's too many decisions."

Rosalies palm smacked down on the table with a loud bang. "We can't allow the human to chance anything! Even if we decided to all disappear, it's not safe to leave stories behind us! We live so differently from the rest of our kind and you _know _there are people who would love to point fingers! We have to be careful!"

"We've left rumours behind us before." Edward spoke quietly.

Rosalie glared at him for a long second, "Yes, rumours and suspicions, Edward. Not eyewitnesses and evidence!"

"Evidence!" Edward scoffed.

But Jasper was nodding. I watched him for a few seconds until his eyes met mine, where I instantly looked away. I knew he had morals, but this was his brother.

"Rose-" Carlisle interrupted.

"No, Carlisle - let me finish. This doesn't have to be anything big. She had a head injury today; it could have been more serious than it looked." Rosalie shrugged. "Every mortal goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up. People would want us to clean up after our selves. Really, this should be Edward's job but it's obvious he's incapable. You know I'm capable of control, I would leave no evidence behind me."

Edward's eyes turned black. "Yes, we all know how proficient an assassin you are."

Rosalie hissed furiously.

"Rosalie, I looked the other way back in Rochester because I felt that you were owed your justice. Those men had done horrific things...but this is not the same. The Swan girl is innocent."

"This isn't _personal _Carlisle. It's to protect us all." Rosalie hissed.

A few seconds of silence passed while Carlisle thought. When he nodded, a smile lit up Rosalie's face. How naive she was.

"I understand you mean well, Rosalie...but I wish...I wish our family were _worth _protecting. The occasional ... accident or slip in our control is part of who we are." I noticed, as did Edward and Esme, the way he said _'we' _even though he had never made such a mistake. Rosalie and Jasper looked too angry, and Emmett looked too concerned to seem to notice anything at all. "To kill a child in cold blood is another thing entirely to what happened...before. I believe the risk she presents, whether she speaks or not, is nothing to the greater risk of going through with your plan. Also, if we make such exeptions to protect ourselves, we end up risking something a lot more important. We risk losing the essence of who we are."

"I'm just being responsible..." Rosalie muttered, the irritation clear in her voice.

Carlisle smiled, "It's being callous, Rosalie. Every life is precious."

Rosalie sighed heavily and her lower lip pointed out. Emmett patted her shoulder.

"The question is: Shall we move on?" Carlisle asked.

Rosalie's whining stopped and her face turned into one of shock, "No! We've just settled! I don't want to start highschool all over again!"

"You could all keep your current ages." Carlisle suggested.

"And move even sooner from there?"

Carlisle shrugged.

"I like it here! There's so little sun we almost get to be _normal!_"

"Well, we don't have to decide now. Edward seems determined on the girl's silence."

Rosalie snorted, but relaxed. However annoyed she was with the rest of - particularly Edward, Esme and I - I didn't care. Rosalie's argument was over and the family was fine again without anyone having to leave. The headache slowly started fading away. I looked at Edward and noticed his focus was on Jasper. He was still set on his decision; he hadn't been moved.

I supposed it was clear why he was so determined. He had lived a life of war and pain. He saw the aftermath of what happens when you don't follow the rules. He'd seen it in front of his own eyes.

"Jasper," Edward said. "She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow it."

"She benefits from it then? She should have died today, Edward. I'd only be putting that right."

Edward's stare hardened, "I - will - not - allow - it."

Jasper's eyebrows raised. Nobody exept myself had seen his preperation, his determination that he would fight for her, whoever it was.

Jasper shook his head once. "I won't let Alice live in danger, not matter how small that danger is." I sighed mentally as the headache starting fighting back. I couldn't understand how I felt. Worried: I didn't want my husband and my brother to fight over me. Concerned: I didn't want Edward to leave again - It would be because of me. Upset: I understood why Jasper felt this way...but I still didn't like it. I wished, sometimes, he was a little less protective. Confused: I know I'd be doing exactly the same in Jasper's situation - how could I blame him? "You don't feel about anyone the way I feel about her, Edward, you haven't lived through what I've lived through, even if you have seen the memories. You don't understand."

Carlisle turned from talking to Rosalie, and watched the two of them carefully.

"I'm not disputing that Jasper. But I'm telling you now, I will not allow you to harm Isabella Swan."

It was then, with Edward's last words that the headache disappeared so quickly I jumped. I was thrown into another reality, only vaguely aware of the silence left behind me. I was ridiculously relieved and excited to be having a vision - why was I? I felt unsafe without them...

_I was at the shopping mall, too bags in my hands as usual. Bella Swan trudged out of the nearest shop with three of her own bags, a bored expression on her face. "Can we go now?" She asks.  
I laugh, "One more shop."  
Edward walks up behind me, "Alice, please stop torturing us."  
I pout, "But I don't get to go anywhere else with you - or Bella."  
"Then we'll find a place. I don't know...the cinema. You and Bella can go to the cinema together."  
Bella's face lit up, "That'll be great!"  
"I swear you're not normal." I say as we head for the exit. Bella laughs. "You know, I think you should sleep over tonight."  
"Sleep?"  
"Yeah, why not? Charlie's going to be at the station really late tonight...there's going to be a hiking accident."  
"He never said...Oh."  
"I'm helpful, right? So how about you sleep over? We can try on all these clothes...some of the things you've picked...I think I'm going to have to make some changes. Then we can all girly stuff, you know? Stuff girls do, stuff friends do?"_

"Jazz." I said, snapping out of the vision to the hostile silence again. Edward's mouth fell open slightly. Jasper looked at me instantly, "I know you love me, thank you. Just I really would love it if you didn't try to kill Bella. Only, Edward's serious, and I really don't want you two fighting. And she's my friend...or at least she's going to be."

"What?" Jasper said.

Alice smiled, "I'm going to love her someday, Jazz...and I'll be very put out if you don't let that happen."

And as Jasper's decisions changed to fit, a new future set itself into place. "See?" I said, "Bella isn't going to say anything. Everything's clear now..."

**There was a lot of speech in that. The next chapter's going to be different. Review ... please? **


	57. Chapter 57

**Wow. It's been a _really _long time. A lot has been going on and I've just moved house, so sorry for the wait and here's your new chapter.**

Morning came quickly the next day. Door's began slamming and feet stomped across the floor's angrily as Edward and Rosalie argued as they did almost every morning. Emmett came into mine and Jaspers room, ready for school already in clothes I'd set out for him the previous night.

"Why are you following me?" Rosalie screamed...the argument must be at it's peak.

Edward chuckled quietly under his breath, "One, because it's just fun to annoy you. Two, we're both going downstairs."

"Grr! Esme! Tell Edward-"

"Both of you stop it. You're acting like toddlers."

"Well tell him to stop following me _everywhere!" _

"Edward - stop it."

"I'm not doing anything!" Edward shouted in defence.

Jasper, myself and Emmett joined the other three downstairs. Carlisle came from his study after us.

"Why do you two constantly aruge?" Carlisle muttered.

Edward's lips twitched as he wanted to say something, but he kept him mouth shut.

We all sat at the dinner table, talking casually before we left for school. My head swam with so many thoughts I couldn't focus on much of what my siblings were saying. Bella, mainly, was constantly there. I couldn't help but seeing each possibilty; each one flashed before my mind like pictures, yet they were visions. They repeated over and over, a dozen pictutes flitting through my head until one solidified...they were merely pictures but each one signified a different event.

All the way to school Edward was watching me. I felt like telling him to watch the road, but it was pointless. He didn't need to watch the road and I was sure, if I even brought it up, he'd prove me wrong.

I only stayed half the day, claiming that I had stomach ache. In fact, my head was throbbing, and I used the excuse to go hunting. I filled myself until I was comfortable, and sat down a fallen tree branch which was hanging, quite dangerously, over a fast river. I curled into a ball and tucked my head into my knees, closing my eyes tightly and listening to the forest surrounding me. And that's when it came. My head filled with such pain, it was as though it was going to explode._ And then I saw Edward, his head in his hands, sat next to a young girl of possibly eighteen. She looked perfect: her hair lying in gentle curls next to her shoulders, her face peaceful, her eyes shut, it was as though she was sleeping and not a single mark ruined the perfection. In a strange way, it was a shock when she opened her eyes. It was more of a shock, for them to be blood red, for her lips to curve in a slight smile. Edward looked up, his once golden eyes betraying him, as each stared at the girl before him a dark amber. Bella was one of us...she was-_  
The vision changed abruptly. _Bella hadn't risen. Her body was no longer set in perfection. Her hair was tangled and fell around her angrily, her body twisted, both with intense struggle. Her skin was ghostly white. She didn't rise. She didn't wake. Edward was first to look up; his eyes were scarlet against his ivory skin. _

* * *

When he got home Edward cornered me. I'd seen it coming. I walked up to my bedroom just to make it easier, and he followed me a few seconds later, whilst the others planned what they were going to do at the weekend.

"The visions."

"What about them?" I asked innocently.

"Why are the...so many?"

"Because everything's undecided. If you don't like it - don't listen."

"I never said that."

"You're dwelling on it, Edward."

"And?"

"You don't know half of it." I said. I turned, walked from the room, ang jogged down the stair case so he could not talk to me further until we were in the company of the others.

"Where have you two been?" Rosalie asked.

"Why is it any of your buisness?" Edward replied.

Rosalie scowled at him angrily. "I am your sister."

"Even more of a reason not to tell you."

Rosalie crossed her arms and sat like that on the sofa for a while longer. I could feel Edward's gaze burning into me.

"Stop it." I told him.

"Stop what?"

"You know what."

It only took a few words. The others were interested and equally annoyed. They hated our private conversations.

"Tell me what you saw."

"You've seen what I have."

"Come on, Alice. We know that's not true."

"You don't want to push it, Edward. I think...I think you'd be better off not knowing."

"Way to go, Alice. That'll make him want to know even more." Emmett muttered.

I glared at him for a second.

"Just tell me."

I decided not to tell him verbally. The others would hate me for a while, but they'd find out soon enough. Possibly sooner rather than later...the vision was already beginning to solidify. So, I took him back to the memory...

Edward was sat, arms crossed in front of him, at his table in biology. Bella walked in, frowning and looking confused and took her place by the side of him.

"Hello," He said, "I'm Edward Cullen."

The scene flickered and the two of them were stood on a hill top in the forest just north from here. The look in Edward's eyes was unmistakable...he was in love with her.

Then, almost immediately the scene changed again. Bella was lying on the her bed; cold, pale and unmoving. And finally, a last image, the image that I couldn't forget: Bella running through the forest, faster than any normal human could. She turned, as if she was looking right at you and smiled. She was beautiful.

Five minutes later it was finished. Edward was staring at me, skin a shade paler and eyes the deepest black. He shook his head, "No." He said firmly.

I grimaced, "I told you. I said you wouldn't want to know."

"It's undecided...the future can change."

I didn't answer.

**So there you go. It's not that long but perhaps maybe one...or two reviews?**


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